The not so known story of Dorné and Breuchen
by MaggieWritesFanfiction
Summary: This story is set after a Third World War and how the world is trying to put itself back together but the rift might be too great to fully heal. In the midst of it two countries has claimed themselves independent and wants to start anew.
1. A short introduction

**Hello...**

 **So I'm back. I had promised myself to never write fanfiction again but here I am. I have taken some time off writing, went to London and studied for a year and then came home to the silence of the Swedish countryside. Although while I was in London I did write a bit between the loads of homework and just exploring London. The thing was that it was a fanfiction...**  
 **Of course the story has turned away from its original content and it became something else eniterly. I have never written a story that long before and at first I felt like I just wanted to keep it to myself and just let my closest friends read it, but I thought that someone out there might want to read so I'm going to upload it here.**

 **Keep in mind that this story for a start will not be edited, although my english has improved tremendesouly during my stay in London it won't be perfect since I pretty much just wrote down what came to mind and I didn't start to write down when and where the chapters took place until the end of part 2. Some characters will appear and then disappear to never be mentioned again and some things will happen but never fully explained simply because I write in the spur of the moment and sometimes those kind of storylines isn't as good as I think they are to a start. I might go back in the future to edit them but first I want to finish it since I have never been able to do so before and I don't have the time to sit down and edit all the chapters.**

 **Now I'm done with my ranting and I hope you will like this story and that the things I mentioned above won't scare you away from it. Enjoy!**

 **P.S I have written almost four parts which all have twenty chapters but I won't upload them all at a time because that would take a lot of work and if I upload a few at a time I will have time to finish the story completely.**

A short introduction of part one:

A long time ago, war was raging through Europe. At first it was the First World War and just a few years later, the second. More than hundred years later the Third World War lit the world in flames. Friends turned enemies and enemies turned friends. For seven long years people fought bravely on both side until the Allies was claimed victors. Now there are held meetings with countries from different corners of the world to prevent another world war.


	2. Part 1, Chapter 1: Magda

**Part 1: Gaining Independence**

 **Chapter 1: Magda**

Ten seconds. That was how long it took from the entrance to the large wooden door with golden handles. Ten seconds was all I got to prepare myself. Not that it was such of a surprise, I had been waiting for this moment since it all began seven years ago. Yet, not even thousands of years could prepare me for it. My brothers had helped me the best they could, at least Ludwig. Gilbert offered as much support as he was capable of. They had both been so kind to give me some piece of advice.

Ludwig had told her to walk with determined steps, like I knew where I was going. Also to hold my head up straight and speak in such manner that others couldn't help than to obey me. Gilbert, on the other hand had told me to act like I'm better than everybody else. I didn't dare to point out that he hadn't been to any world meetings for the past hundred years. Since it had been so long since the last time I saw him, I didn't feel like break the little trust I had gained by moving out of Ludwig's house.

It had been a surprise to say the least, to find him standing outside my door just a few hours after I had received my invitation. The war had separated my family, in more than one way. Ludwig had been with the Allies and Gilbert with the Axis and they had fought each other more than I like to believe.  
It was a relief when Ludwig told me to stay out of their quarrel and don't pick sides. Although, it was no secret who was my favourite. No matter how much Gilbert amused me with his peculiar plans to gain world dominance, Ludwig would always be my favourite brother. I hadn't told anyone about it, but gaining my independence, although much wanted, it had been very difficult to leave him alone in that house. I could still remember the sad expression on his face when I left.

Five months had passed since I moved out and a lot had changed since then. The war had ended and I had been acclaimed a real country, and now I was standing here, outside the door that would determine my future as a country.  
America had said that it would be the beginning of a new era. An era with no wars and world peace. It wasn't unusual of him to think too big. It had been quite funny listening to him talking about his great part in the war and how he would be the hero. I hoped that the allies would remember me. It would make it easier to fit in if I knew somebody other than my brother.

There was a red carpet on the floor, leading the way to the door. It looked even bigger up close and I felt the anxiety growing in the pit of my stomach. I wished I had taken Ludwig's offer to walk in with him, but I reminded myself that it was the price I had to pay for my independence. I couldn't rely on my brother anymore.

With a shaky hand I turned the handle and walked in. I was prepared for the questions that would most definitely come, the bickering between the Allies and Axis but nothing came. No questions and no bickering. Then I realised, the room was empty. No one was there. Was I in the right room? Yes I was, I had checked it several times and this was most certainly the room for the meeting.  
Perhaps it was a cruel joke by someone. Hadn't Ludwig told me how many times England liked to make Sealand believe that he was invited to the world meetings?

"Who are you?" someone said behind me. The voice was low, almost like a whisper and it made it even scarier. I turned around and came face to face with a young man. He had blue eyes, blond hair and he wore glasses. I could also see a pair of goggles on the top of his head. He seemed very familiar, yet his quiet demeanour told me that he wasn't the one I thought. I couldn't recall meeting him before and couldn't put a name to his face.

Then I remembered that he had asked me a question.  
"My name's Magda", I answered.  
"That was a strange name on a country", he said quietly and I had to lean a bit closer to him in order to hear him properly.  
"That's my human name", I explained. "I'm more known as Breuchen". I could see a hint of recognition in his eyes. So he did know who I was but I couldn't remember his?  
"You used to live with Germany", he stated. I nodded and a few seconds of silence passed before I broke it.  
"And you are?" I asked.  
"I'm Canada", he answered.

"That's why I recognised you", I said and he looked at me like he couldn't determine whether I was real or not.  
"You're America's brother", I added and his gaze fell to the floor.  
"That's me, America's brother", he said with a sad tone. I didn't know if I should apologise or not. He seemed to be hurt by my words but I didn't know why. So instead I decided to change the subject.

"Where are everybody else?" I asked and looked around the room.  
"They will come", he answered. "You're just an hour early". An hour? How could that be? I had calculated when I had to leave in order to be in time. I looked down at my watch and to my horror I realised that it had stopped entirely. I was lucky to even be there at all.  
As I was examining my watch, Canada tip toed back to his seat.

Only now did I notice how large the room was. There was tables placed in a circle and there was only one opening to the middle. Nametags and flags had been placed in front of every seat. It took a while before I found my seat. To my relief I was seated between Sweden and Spain. Although, Sweden had remained neutral through the war, he and Germany had a strong friendship and did often business together before the war.  
Spain had been on the Axis side but had never been in the middle of the conflict, he only helped out Italy and Romano to protect their lands from the Allies.

I sat down and looked around the room. Looking at all the flags and trying to remember if I had met them before or not. After a while I got bored so I looked over at Canada who sat on the other side of the room. He was scribbling something down on a paper and didn't look like he wanted to have a conversation at the moment. So, for the next forty minutes I followed Canada's example and drew trees and flowers on my paper, which I suspected should be used to write down something important.

England was the first one to arrive. His blond hair looked even bushier than usual and the dark rings under his green eyes revealed the lack of sleep he had been having. The eyebrows looked as weird as I remembered, and the memory of when the first time I met him and had made fun of his eyebrows still lingered in my mind.  
He looked around the room. When his eyes landed on Canada he looked surprised.

"So you finally decided to show up in time for once", he said to Canada.  
"I'm…" Canada began.  
"So I assume that you have agreed on the terms?" England continued. Poor Canada tried to say something but England kept talk about a document.  
"He's not America!" I shouted and England stops abruptly. Evidently, he hadn't noticed my presence until now.  
"Who are you?" he asked. "Are you a spy?" he added quickly. I sighed. Couldn't he just read the nametag?  
"She's Breuchen", Canada explained quietly. England looked a bit confused but then I saw that he could place my face.  
"Germany's sister", he said. "Heard that you would join us". Then he went to his seat and joined our quiet fun of scribbling.

Ten minutes later, the room started to fill with people. The Baltic States, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania came together. They all looked very frightened but relaxed once they saw that there was just three others there.  
The Nordics, also came together. Sweden just nodded his head as a greeting to me and I wondered if he remembered me.

Spain was one of the last to arrive. His brown hair and green eyes stood out among the blond and blue eyed Nordics around him. I wondered if they had put the Allies and Axis separately between neutral states just to avoid conflict.

Much to my surprise, Ludwig, or Germany was the last one to arrive and he just looked at me quickly before he went to his seat. Not even a hello.

"Alright, let's get this meeting going", America exclaimed and went into the middle of the circle. I could hear people sighing. When he stood in front of me I could see how alike he and Canada looked, yet they were so different. I decided that I preferred Canada's quiet personality rather than America's outgoing.  
"First order of business", he began.  
"Why is it always you holding the meetings?" someone asked. I turned to see to who the voice belonged to. I had only heard stories about him. How he used to be a part of the Allies but his constant arguments with England turned him to ally with Russia. His famous blond wavy hair and blue eyes, like so many others in the room, yet his choice of clothing made him stand out. I was conflicted, he was very attractive, but he had a reputation to be a flirt and very self-centred. I turned to where England was sitting and he looked angry, even a bit offended, as if it was he who he had interrupted.

"Because I'm the hero", America stated as if it was the most obvious thing ever. France looked like he was ready to say something else when Russia cleared his throat. All eyes turned to him and almost everyone's eyes were filled with hatred. It was filling the room, drifting through the air like a disease. I hated myself for felling pity for him. I shouldn't. He was the reason that the war began, if he hadn't been out to force his sister, Ukraine back to his house, they wouldn't be in that mess.  
However, Russia didn't seem to care what others thought of him. His violet eyes looked so calm and kind that I began wonder why someone who looks so nice could do something so terrible to his own family. Not everyone loathed him though, on his right side sat Belarus. If there was someone in the room I actually feared it was Belarus. She looked like she was ready to kill whoever dared to go against her brother. It was no secret that she was in love with him and wanted to marry him. Ludwig had told me one night, how inappropriate he thought it was and that Russia should never encourage such behaviour. I had to agree, it would be like I had a crush on Ludwig or Gilbert, and either would be too weird to even think about.

"Why won't we choose a neutral country to hold the meeting?" he suggested. Everyone continued to stare at him in awe. Did he really say that? I would have thought that he would demand that he was going to hold the meeting. The room started to fill with chatter.

"What do you think about it?" Spain asked me and I was so surprised by his question that when I tried to answer nothing but strange words left my mouth. Spain chuckled.  
"So you don't want to hold the meeting, I take it?" he asked. I just shook my head. I couldn't even imagine how much of a fool I would make of myself if I had to go up and speak in front of everyone.  
"I have never seen you before", he stated and I understood the under lying question.  
"I'm Breuchen, used to be a part of Germany", I told him almost robotic.  
"You're the enemy then", he said with a teasing tone. I rolled my eyes. Was he really that stupid to joke about the war when the relationship between the Allies and Axis is so fragile?

After another minutes of discussion between seated neighbours, America stood up again.  
"I think that Canada should be the president of the meetings", he said. I looked at Canada, but was surprised when others seemed to have problem locate him. Once they did, Canada looked very uncomfortable.  
"That's not fair, he's your brother", China shouted and quite many nodded in agreement.  
"Who do you suggest then?" America asked.  
"Switzerland", someone said before China could answer him. All eyes turned to Switzerland who just shook his head. After another few turned down suggestions, France stood up and cleared his throat.  
"Monaco", he just said and sat down again. People began discussing but no one seemed to be against the idea. Then they turned to Monaco who seemed surprised to even be suggested.  
"I suppose I can do it", she said.  
"Then it's decided", America announced and went over to Monaco. He held out his arm for her to take and he escorted her to the middle of the circle. When he went back to his seat, everybody looked at Monaco with curious eyes.

"First order of business", she read from a paper. "The Nordics suggest that all matters about the peace agreement should be held in a small group with only the involved". It took a few seconds before everyone got the question and then the discussions began. In the end the majority agreed that The Allies and Axis had to settle it between just them.  
The rest of the meeting went on like that, Monaco told them about suggestions from either one country or more and then they would discuss it and then vote. It seemed very simple and there was just a heated discussion between China and Japan, but other than that it went fine.

After the meeting I went to speak to Ludwig. I might be an independent country now but he was still my brother and I wanted to talk to him about my first day.  
"Brother", I said. He looked at me. Not with the warm and kind look he usually did, he looked emotionless.  
"Is it an important matter?" he asked and I was taken aback by how stern he sounded. Like he barely knew me at all. I looked down at my shoes and could feel the tears burning behind my eyes.  
"No, I suppose we can take it another time", I said and was ready to leave. Then he put a hand on my right shoulder and I could feel his gaze on me.  
"We will talk", he said. "But not now", he added. I nodded and tried to understand. I really did.  
"I have to discuss something with England", he said and with that he left me standing alone. It wasn't like I hadn't seen this side of him before. During the war, he had barely smiled. But he had always made sure that he would be happy around me, to not show how much the war affected him. This felt different. It seemed like he was ashamed of me, like he didn't want to show everyone that he still talked to the sister who had left his house.

It was with a sad mood I went home from that meeting that day and I dreaded for the next day. I thought that gaining my independence would open up the world to me. Right then it felt like it was the end of the world. I was alone, truly alone. What had I done? I thought as I went to bed that night.


	3. Part 1, Chapter 2: Éloïse

**Chapter 2:**

"Are you sure you don't want to stay, Lois?" he asked me with such sadness in his voice that I wondered if I really should do it. Then again, hadn't I been thinking about it for so long? Hadn't the nights without sleep due to the gun shots and bombs falling around me made me more determined for a better future? Yes, I had made the decision to leave and I would never return here.  
"Don't call me Lois", I said but couldn't help the smile form on my face. He smiled as well and I felt a pang of sadness. Things would never be the same between us again and I would miss living with him, even if his nightly rendezvous would drive me crazy at times.

"Don't forget to call if there is anything you need help with", he said. He had been through it many times. If any of the other countries was bothering me, I could call him and he would come straight away. Not that I was planning on getting myself into trouble the first thing I do. But then again, I was sister to Francis Bonnefoy or as he was more known as, France.

I couldn't say that we looked much alike. Although, I could say that I'm fairly attractive it didn't matter to me as much as it did to my brother. We were both blonds, although mine was slightly lighter than his and much longer, and he had blue eyes while mine was grey.  
When it came to interests we had little in common. He was for a busy night life, drinking, partying and a new girl every night. I preferred to sit home and read a good book or play my piano.

When I first had told him that I was going to move out, he didn't take it serious. Why would he? I had never showed how miserable I had been for the past seven years. At first he blamed himself, said that he had been a bad brother. I had told him that it wasn't like that. It was just that I felt like I couldn't grow under his protection.  
So I looked for a house of my own and found a nice one close to the sea. How I loved the sea, it was always there I found the inspiration to my music.

I had delayed the move for a few months as I didn't want to leave him after his defeat in the war but I now thought that it was the right time. He had to learn how to deal with the consequences of his choices on his own. I refused to live through another war with him. I turned to look at him. He cried and though, not unusual for my brother, I felt like crying with him. I didn't though.  
I put my arms around him and let my head rest against his chest and let his warmth embrace me.  
"Take care", he whispered and let me go. I took my suitcase and forced my legs to walk forward. When I reached the gate, I turned around to see my brother a last time before I would begin my new life as an independent state. Nothing would be the same when I left the gate, I thought sadly.

I waved to him before I turned around and walked through the gate. It was just a few metres from the place I had called home for so many years, but it was the furthest I had never been away. Now there was an uncertain future ahead of me. Would I be able to live on my own? Would the others country greet me with open arms or would I become like Kugelmugel? Seen as an annoying micro nation who will never truly be their own country.

To think about that, would be like I have accepted that fate. I will fight for my rights and I will make sure that no one will have to live through another war, I thought as I was walking on the sidewalk.

Since it was the first time I was out in the real world I paid attention to everything. All the colours, smells and the feeling of something that I couldn't explain other than being the feeling of freedom. I could hear birds singing in the trees and a stream of water was close by. It all seemed so peaceful and I couldn't even picture how it must have looked when England and Germany dropped bombs over here.

I leaving France's house was a sign. A sign of a better future for so many people. The war left a trail of death and grief in the world and now I'm going out to heal it, I thought to myself.

The journey to my new home was very unpleasant to say the least. It was a long and bumpy road. It took four hours but I got there, safe and sound. The house was a pretty little thing. Built in white stone with black painted windows and a red door. The front had only a small garden with white roses, but I knew that there was one in the back as well.  
I could see a house a bit further away but I had no idea who might live there. As I entered the house, it struck me how light it was. Much more spacey than France's house.

The house had one large bedroom with a bathroom attached to it. A small kitchen, a dining room, a guest room, another bathroom and a living room. Every room was painted white and had many windows to let the light in. The furnishing was modern and colourful. It was like the house had been designed and furnished for me.

I decided to unpack later as it had been a long journey and I was exhausted. I could see the beach from my kitchen window. It began just where my garden ended and I felt a pull to the ocean. Not caring to put on shoes I went outside. The wind was pulling at my clothes but if it was cold, I couldn't feel it.  
The sand felt soft under my feet and I walked closer to the water. Cold water touched my toes and a shivered but didn't care. Then I reached out my arms and let the wind and waves hit me. Never before had I felt so free and for the first time since I had left my brother's house, I felt with my entire being that it was the right choice.

"What are you doing!?" someone shouted and I get so surprised that I lost my balance and fell. The cold water shocks me and the next few minutes passed by in a blur. Someone grabbed and lifted me up. I can't even remember the walk to my house but when I can think straight again, I'm sitting in an armchair with dry clothes and has a blanket wrapped around me.  
I could heard someone walking around the kitchen. Something inside me told me to grab the closest item if the person was dangerous. But I didn't, the person, whoever he or she was, had saved me from the cold water.

The person walks out from the kitchen. He is blond, has green eyes and very bushy eyebrows. I was quite certain that I had never seen the person before. He looked nice so I put my former plans on finding something to protect me with in the back of my mind.  
"You should be more careful", he said and handed me a cup of tea.  
"I wouldn't have fell if it wasn't for you", I pointed out. It wasn't meant to come out, it was only a thought that popped up in my head. But I had never been good at not saying what's on my mind. A family trait, both me and France shared.  
"Fair enough", he said and didn't seem to be bothered by my obvious lack of manners.  
"Who are you?" I asked. He looked at me with an expression divided with surprise and curiosity.  
"My name's Arthur Kirkland", he answered. The name didn't tell me anything of who he was, which he seemed it would. When he saw my confused expression he looked even a bit troubled.

"I'm more known as England", he said. I looked up at him. Was this England? My brother's mortal enemy? Who he fought with even when they were on the same side? Should I tell him about my relations with him? Or would he recent me from the start then?  
"And I think this is where you are supposed to tell me your name", he said. A few seconds passed before I made up my mind.  
"My name's Éloïse", I said. "Éloïse Bonnefoy", I added with confidence. England's expression turned stern and he almost looked intimidating.  
"France's sister", he stated. I nodded and wondered what he would do. I thought that he would leave my house as quickly as possible and then start to plan a way to get me out of here.

"So he thought that he could send his sister to spy on me?" he asked to himself. "He really thought that I wouldn't find out about it?" He keeps talking to himself for a while.  
"I'm not a spy", I said. He looked at me, clearly not believing my words.  
"I have left my brother's house for good", I explained.  
"Why?" he asked me. "Why would you leave the big and fancy house of your brother's to come and live here?"  
"I hated it there", I admitted. "I could never sleep at night and he wouldn't let me leave his house. You're the first person I have talked to who isn't my brother or my cousin".

England seemed to try to process what I just had said. Probably trying to decide if he should trust me or not. Then he sighed.  
"Alright, I believe you", he said and I breathed out a breath which I wasn't even aware that I held.

I couldn't believe that someone would trust someone that easily. Although, I was grateful, of course, that he didn't want me to leave.  
"I live over there", England said and pointed to a red brick house a few hundred metres away.  
"It looks really nice", I said, trying to make conversation. It didn't go as I hoped because he looked at me with suspicion.  
"Just don't make any loud noises", he said and was ready to leave. I stood up and he turned to look at me.  
"Thank you", I said and he just nodded before he left my house.

I watched as he walked home and I felt a great gratitude towards the man, but I also felt fear. What would my brother say if I befriended England? No, you can't think like that, I told myself. You're an independent country and won't let your brother's ruined relationship with other countries cloud your judgement, I thought as I went back to my armchair and drank up my tea.


	4. Part 1, Chapter 3: Magda

**Chapter 3: Magda**

"Why won't you tell me about the meetings?" Gilbert asked me for the tenth time since he had arrived. I had explained to him that I had promised to not tell him anything, I left out the tiny detail that it was Ludwig I had promised.

I had been on five meetings so far and I could see how the relationship between countries improved. America still hated Russia, England still hated France and China still hated Japan. But they hadn't disturbed the meetings with their bickering, which could be seen as a success.

Gilbert was still not allowed in the meetings as he wasn't officially his own country, and he couldn't seem to think about anything else. He had been over three times since my first meeting and every time he wanted details and I always told him that I couldn't provide them to him.  
"It's not like its secret", he said. "Do they want to hide things from me?"  
"Of course not", I said but not even I believed it. I knew for a fact that many countries either disliked or more or less hated him. Especially Hungary and Lithuania, they seemed to never cease to come up with reasons why he shouldn't be allowed to attend the meetings.

"I played a big part in the war", he exclaimed. "They should be grateful". I rolled my eyes. I wanted to tell him that he was on the losing side and should be very grateful that he wasn't at the meetings. The Axis presence wasn't particularly wanted.

A few of the Axis I had talked to, like Spain and Italy, they hadn't been that involved in the war and they were both very open and fun people to be around. China and Poland, although not mean, was quite cross most of the time. Then there was Russia and Belarus, I avoided them as much as possible. Russia seemed very kind, but I knew that he had a dark side and Belarus really freaked me out.

"Are you even listening to me?" Gilbert asked, waking me up from my thoughts. I looked at him and shrugged my shoulders. It was my way to tell him that I really didn't care what he was talking about and that he should just drop it. He sighed and muttered something I couldn't hear, but I suspected that it was something not so nice.  
"Brother, why can't you just try to move on?" I asked him. It had been nagging me for months that he didn't seem to want to forget about the war. Hadn't he been through the terrors of war enough?  
"It's not a question of moving on. I just want to be appreciated for my hard work", he explained. I sighed. It was no use trying to talk to him. I had tried before and failed miserably every time. He would move on when he would, no one could help him with that.

We had been sitting in my kitchen. He was drinking coffee and I hot chocolate. I had never cared much for coffee, the taste was disgusting.

The first few weeks I hadn't felt at home in my new house. It was a lovely house. A large kitchen with a dining area, a living room, a big bedroom with a closet and a bathroom attached to it. Another bedroom which I was planning on making my library. Then a bathroom for guests and a large garden with a pool in the back. Ludwig had been very proud to show it to me and thought that I would love it.  
I did love it. Both the interior, exterior and the furniture but it hadn't felt like a home and I still missed Ludwig's house terribly. Gilbert had been kind to help me move my things and had offered to stay for a few days. I turned him down. I didn't want to move from one brother to be stuck with another.

"I should repaint my bedroom", I said absently and Gilbert looked at me with a puzzled look. I loved to confuse him. It seemed like half of the time when we met up to talk, he tried to figure me out.  
"Why do I even bother? You're even worse than Ludwig", he said and I had to look up at him. It was not very often either of them mentioned the other. It was like they tried to forget the fact that they even were brothers. I always became so sad when I thought about the times when we all used to live together. Wished that we could somehow go back to that. Yet, I knew that it was impossible. Our family was broken and I feared that nothing could unite us again.

"Now you're doing that thing again", Gilbert said and I returned to earth once again. "You just zone out". I shrugged my shoulders. It was just who I was. I could spend a long time just wandering around in the world that existed inside my head. Sometimes it was even better there and I often had a hard time not going there and it always ended up with me missing something important.

"Do you want to go for a walk?" he asked. I considered his offer for a second and nodded. Some air would probably be good for me, I thought as we left my house. It was a chilly day and dark clouds was forming in the sky and I feared that it would start to rain. Gilbert didn't seem to mind the cold winds and looked like he was enjoying every second of fresh air as much as he could.  
It was during times like this I could see the good side of him, the kind and selfless one which was so often masked with his cocky attitude. He was a good person, I only wished he could show that side to people, I thought sadly.

We walked for a while until we reached the end of what would be considered my lands. I had walked passed both Austria's and Switzerland's houses but since Gilbert wasn't welcome anywhere I didn't dare to bring him. I wanted to avoid conflict as much as possible.  
He didn't question me when I turned around and made my way to France's house. I had never dared to go too close since I have heard so many stories about France, all of them more obscure than the other.

There was a hedge that separated my lands with France's and I had never walked past them, but Gilbert didn't seem to bother and just continued walking. I told him to go back but he didn't seem to care so I followed him to make sure that he wasn't planning on doing something foolish.

France's house was a large mansion with three floors. I had never been inside there myself but both Ludwig and Gilbert had told me about the expensive and luxurious interior that hid inside. The garden that surrounded the mansion was breathtakingly beautiful and I wondered why I had never thought of going here before.  
"What are you doing here?" a voice said. That was the reason. France himself stood there, surrounded by flowers in all colours of the rainbow and he was looking at me, not Gilbert, but me.  
"I….I", I stuttered, couldn't form any words to explain. He walked closer to me and took my hand. And he brought the hand to his lips and kissed it.  
"Such beautiful girl as yourself shouldn't be out here with him", he said and nodded at Gilbert. I blushed furiously and had to look down at the ground to not embarrass myself further.  
"She's my sister", Gilbert explained. "And you should stay away from her", he added and put an arm around my shoulders.  
"You're related to him?" France asked in disbelief. I had still my eyes on the ground and just nodded.  
"Mon Cheré, you don't have to be shy around me", he said and put a hand under my chin to bring up my face so I met his eyes. My cheeks burnt and I felt so foolish to behave like this. Luckily, Gilbert saved me and pulled me away from France's grasp. I had never been so grateful in my entire life.

"I have to talk to France for a while but feel free to explore", Gilbert said and he and France went inside the giant mansion. It was a relief to finally be alone. I don't think I would have been able to act civil with France flirting with me.

I walked around in France's garden. Admiring the flowers which was so foreign to me that I didn't know their names. He may be a flirt but he had a good eye when it came to decorating and fashion.  
Although I could have spent a long time exploring, I was quite happy when Gilbert came back and said that we could go back to my place. France winked at me as he bid farewell. This time I didn't even flinch and was pretty proud of myself because of it.

"He's a nice man, isn't he?" Gilbert asked me. I shrugged my shoulders.  
"He was kind, I guess", I answered.  
"So you don't think he's handsome?" he asked me and I realised what he was doing. I suddenly stopped and turned around to face my brother.  
"Why is it to you, what my opinion of France is?" I asked suspiciously.  
"Nothing, I was just wondering", he said absently.  
"I'm not going to ally with France", I said seriously.  
"I wasn't even suggesting anything", he said with a teasing tone. I sighed and continued forward. I had to learn to not go anywhere with my brother where there might be a chance of meeting people.

When we reached my house I felt tired and just wanted to go to bed. Gilbert, however wanted to eat dinner and insisted that I would make it, since he was the guest and not the other way around. So I made him some sausages and mashed potatoes and when he was eating, I took the chance to write a letter to Ludwig.


	5. Part 1, Chapter 4: Éloïse

**Chapter 4: Éloîse**

 _Dear Éloïse Bonnefoy, The republic of Dorné.  
We here at the World Federation are pleased to tell you that you are now welcome, as an recognised and independent country, to the world meetings. We expect you to behave and not show resistance to the mission we currently have to secure world peace.  
You're welcome to attend your first meeting, the 3_ _rd_ _of August, 3:00 PM.  
Kind regards,  
Alfred , The United States of America._

I had read through the short letter several times, yet I could not believe that it was my name written. This was so surreal. Impossible almost. I did know that France had been working on making the others recognise me as a country. Never thought that it would be that quick.

I wasn't ready, I thought. I had only lived alone for a few months and so unexperienced when it came to the politics of the world. I hadn't even met other countries except France and England. Maybe I should send a letter back, telling that I won't be there and probably not in the nearest future. But then what would I be? Just an unrecognised micro nation with little impact on the world. The years of the war when I lived with my brother had made me determined to prevent another war and getting a seat in the world meetings was definitely a step in the way.

Yes, I had made up my mind. I would go to the meeting and I would make an impact on the world. One would think that all the years I lived locked up in my brother's house would have made me shy, but I wasn't nervous of the fact that I would meet so many new countries, I felt rather excited.

After a while of just staring down at the letter, just to make sure that it wouldn't disappear, I made my way to the piano. It had always been my way to relax. The keys felt so natural under my fingers and I just began to play. At first it didn't sound like anything, it was just warm up. But then the tunes formed a song and I felt myself disappear into the music. I was so absent from the real world that I didn't hear someone knock on the door, so it felt like I almost reached the ceiling when someone put a hand on the piano, making me jump.

"Don't do that", I told my brother who was just laughing.  
"Sorry Lois, but I just had to", he said.  
"Don't call me that", I said sternly and his smile faded.  
"What is it Lois? Are you upset because I haven't called?" he asked with concern. I shook my head.  
"None, and you know that isn't it", I answered. His gaze fell to the floor and he looked a bit guilty.  
"You want to be independent now", he stated. I nodded and stood up.  
"Our", I said. "You are welcome to visit sometimes but then you have to call in advance and never enter my house if not invited". He nodded and looked a bit frightened at my hostile manner towards him. It wasn't like me to be like that towards him. Not even when I was the most annoyed with him.

"But since you're here", I began. "Do you want something to drink?" I asked and his face lit up. He nodded his head and I led him to the kitchen. The invitation lay on the table and my brother was quick to pick it up and read it.  
"You got an invitation?" he said and tried to sound surprised. I rolled my eyes.  
"And I presume that you hadn't anything to do with that", I said.  
"None, I had nothing to do with this", he said but I could tell he was lying.  
"I know that you have been having trouble with this", I said and the air in the room became cold. "So, merci, for doing this for me". He smiled at me.  
"Anything for you Lois", he said and ruffled my hair.

As I was making tea for him, he was looking around in my house. Preparing a lecture about how something didn't look good, for sure. As the water was heated and I went to the cabinet to get a tea bag, I noticed how he was looking at something with interest, a bit further away from the house. I realised to my horror that he was watching England's house.  
It hadn't seemed necessary to tell him about it but I now realised that if he saw England, they would most certainly begin to fight again. How could I have been so stupid? But then again, he had come unannounced. So I wished that England was out in a political matter and wasn't home.

"Who is living there?" my brother asked. The question I didn't want to hear.  
"I don't know", I answered quickly. Before he could say anything more about my answer, I went back to the kitchen to fetch the cups with tea. As I handed him the cup he looked down at the liquid and got an agitated expression on his face. Before I even had the time to process what was happening, the cup fell to the floor and broke. The hot water spreading on the living room floor.  
"What was that for?" I asked and went to get something to clean it up with.  
"Tea?" he asked in disbelief. "Since when do you drink tea?" Then I realised it. It was when I fell to the sea and England gave me a cup of tea I had realised that I quite liked it and so the next day I went to by different tastes and had a whole cupboard full of them. I couldn't obviously tell him that.

"I have always loved tea", I said and hoped that he would blame his absence during the war.  
"Then how have you been able to get it?" he asked. "There is only one who drinks tea". It took a few seconds before he put two and two together and when he turned around he looked at me with disgust.  
"You and England are allies", he exclaimed. I sighed and he took that as a revelation.  
"Is that's why you wanted to move away? So you could marry England", he said and I could see the hurt in his eyes. The old I would have told him that he shouldn't think that about me and that I was loyal to him. But the new I thought differently.

"Do you think that lowly of me?" I asked and I tried to look hurt. It worked and his expression softened.  
"Non, of course not Lois, I'm just worried about you. England isn't a good friend", he said and it made me very cross to hear him say that.  
"You don't know anything", I scolded. My outburst surprised him and he gently put a hand on my shoulder.  
"Pardon, but I do know him, we used to be allies", he said sadly.  
"I just don't want you to fight with him anymore", I said. That was the closest I had ever been to reveal how miserable I was with him. I still didn't dare to tell him and I didn't want to. It would be easier to just let him believe that the only reason I wanted to leave was to gain my independence and that it had nothing to do with him.

Silence filled the room and I didn't know what to say to make it less awkward. Never had we felt so far apart.  
"Do you want me to give you a few tips?" he asked, breaking the silence. I looked up and smiled at him.  
"Of course", I answered and felt a bit happier.

 **I will start off this story by uploading four of the seventy chapters I have already written. When I started this story I had just been introduced to Hetalia by a friend and we was talking about writing a fanfiction together but then we decided to just write one each since I lived in London at that time and it was much more convenient. But in the beginning I thought that this was just going to be a short and sweet story but then it became something else which you will see in future chapters if you continue read it. Quite honestly part one is my least favourite because I didn't know where to take this story but I promise you that it will be better.**


	6. Part 1, Chapter 5: Magda

**Chapter 5: Magda**

To say that things had been difficult since I moved out from Ludwig's house would be an understatement. It had been nearly impossible. I felt so lonely and missed having someone to talk to. At Ludwig's house there was almost always someone over, either Japan, Austria or Hungary but now when I was alone, no one would visit me. Not even to ask me how things where.  
Gilbert and Ludwig obviously visited me from time to time, but they were my brothers and males so I couldn't talk to them about everything.

I had tried to make friends at the meeting, but it turned out to be a lot more difficult than I expected. I was still seated between Spain and Sweden. Although, Spain liked to talk, he spoke about many things that I had never heard of so it was very difficult to have a conversation with him. Sweden was the opposite of Spain, he never said anything, and if he did it was only short answers.

Except Spain and Sweden, I had also talked to the other Nordics. Finland was very nice and friendly and was easy to talk to. Norway was quiet and had a short temper. Iceland didn't say much and seemed to want to be somewhere else. Denmark was the leader of the Nordics. He was the only one that hadn't been neutral in the war and he was the most outgoing of them.  
He was also the most annoying, he had little respect for personal space and what to not ask people. I was glad that I wasn't Liechtenstein who had to sit beside him at every meeting.

Then there was America and England. The only reason either of them knew me was because they had met me when they was at Ludwig's house to discuss tactics. America who I doubted could be mean to anyone, except Russia of course, would talk to me time from time. Ask me how I thought it was to be an independent country and if I liked my new home.

I hadn't spoken to Canada since my first meeting. It was more because he seemed to vanish as soon as the meetings ended and I was almost late to every meeting.

That day's meeting was no exception. I had to run all the way and my lungs felt like they were going to explode and I could feel sweat on my forehead. But I made it in time and that was what was important.  
Spain and Finland greeted me as I sat down. Sweden was as quiet as ever and I didn't really think about it as it was Sweden after all.

Something was different today, I thought. People seemed tenser today than usual, but I couldn't put my finger on what it could be. When I searched through the room, I noticed something, or more like someone. A girl, a new girl. She was seated between Italy and Brazil. She had blond long hair and grey eyes, she was pretty and Italy was obviously flirting with her.  
But she couldn't be the reason as to why everyone seemed so on edge. Then what could it be? I thought and tried to come up with a reason.

Monaco walked into the middle, and even she, who always was so collected seemed to be nervous. It was nagging me to no end so I leaned closer to Spain.  
"What is up with everyone today?" I whispered. He looked at me and I could see that he thought I was stupid for not knowing.  
"Today's going to be the day where Russia and America will finally sign the peace agreement", he answered.  
"Haven't they already signed that?" I asked in disbelief. So weeks of meetings and discussions could be for noting if one of them decided to not sign? No wonder why everyone was so tense.  
"No, they both have been working on their terms for weeks", Spain explained.

As Monaco took up a piece of paper, which I suspected was the peace agreement I felt as nervous as everyone else. America was the first one to go up and read the paper. He didn't show any emotion and it made it all worse. Then he took up a pen and wrote something down. Everyone in the room sighed out in relief. He signed.

Then it was Russia's turn. He had the same innocent look as usual but I knew that he was the one people thought wouldn't sign. He could light the flame for another war if he wanted to, but with his ability to look innocent all the time made it hard to determine what he was thinking at the moment.  
It was with a slow pace he walked into the middle and I wanted to tell him to not torment us further. He took his time to read the paper as well and spent a long while, just considering the terms before I took up a pen and signed. Literally everyone, except Belarus cheered when he signed. No more war, I thought happily as Monaco held up the paper to show everyone the signatures.

As the signing of the paper was the reason everyone went to the meeting that day, most of the countries left afterwards. Ludwig was still there, talking to England and America. Russia had a conversation with Belarus who looked like she was ready to kill someone, and I didn't doubt that she would.

I also noticed that the new country also was there. She stood alone and it looked like she didn't know what to do about herself. As I knew how she was feeling, I went over to her to make her feel welcome.  
"Hi", I greeted to her.  
"Bonjour", she said and smiled at me. So she was French, I thought. Perhaps a relative to France.  
"You're new here", I said, stating the obvious. She nodded.  
"Oui, this is my first meeting", she said.  
"Been there", I told her and smiled at her.

"What's your name?" she asked me and I remembered that I hadn't introduced myself properly.  
"I'm The Kingdom of Breuchen", I answered and reached out my hand for her to shake.  
"I meant your human name", she said.  
"Oh, I'm Magda Beilschmidt", I said and this time she took my hand and shook it.  
"I'm Éloïse Bonnefay or as I'm more known as, The Republic of Dorné", she said. The sister of Francis Bonnefay, I thought. She must have left her brother's house just like me to become an independent country. At least we would have something to talk about, I thought.

"Did you live with France before?" I asked. She nodded.  
"Oui, I moved out just a few weeks ago", she explained. I was just about to ask her something else when her brother came up to us.  
"Lois, I have been waiting for you outside", he said. Éloïse rolled her eyes and turned to her brother.  
"I have already told you that I'm going on my own", she said. France seemed hurt by that but then he turned his attention to me and smirked.  
"Bonjour, mon cheré, haven't seen you for a while", he said and took my hand and brought it to his lips. I couldn't help myself from blushing and felt even more foolish as I was in the presence of his sister as well.  
"Stop bothering her", Éloïse said and France let go of my hand.  
"I was just talking to a friend", he said and winked at me. Éloïse rolled her eyes and muttered something.  
"I'm going to go now, but you can have so fun with your _friend_ ", she said and left. I wanted to go after her and tell her that there was nothing between her brother and I. Truth to be told, I didn't even know him that well and I was quite certain that he was like this to every girl.

France looked after his sister with a sad expression and I knew that there was something more to that relationship than what catch the eye. They had probably not parted in the friendly manner I left Ludwig.

I didn't bother to wait for Ludwig. He could take up to two hours before he decided to leave and I wasn't really in the mood to wait for him today so I just went home and spent the evening reading.


	7. Part 1, Chapter 6: Éloïse

**Chapter 6: Éloïse**

"Are you hungry?" Italy asked me all of a sudden in the middle of England's lecture about the problems in the Middle East. It wasn't the first time he had asked me something out of the blue like that. That was what made him so fun to be around.  
"No", I answered.  
"I'm starving, do you think that we will get any food?" he asked me. I shrugged my shoulders.  
"We usually don't but perhaps it will be different today", I answered and he smiled brightly. It was still a mystery how he could get involved in the war in the first place. He was very kind and innocent, which wasn't very useful on the battlefield and I had heard my brother complain how he would give up as soon as things got tough.

"You might be right", he said and got a dreamy look on his face. He was probably thinking about pasta or something. Wouldn't be the first time. The meeting had been calmer since Russia and America signed the peace agreement. No one was as afraid of a new war and could speak freely without anyone getting too upset.

It was now clear who the bigger country was. America was almost talking all the time, even when Monaco told him to be quiet. England also commented on almost everything. Germany, France and Russia spoke their opinion when it was convenient for them.

"Last order of business", Monaco announced and that turned my attention back to the present.  
"It has come to the World Federation's attention that Greece has an economic crisis and is in need of help", she read from a paper. "First thing is to find him a proper house, but with his economy it will be rather impossible, so they suggest that one of the countries attending the world meetings will let him stay with them". And then the discussion began.

Greece had been invited to the meetings, but due to his bad economy he said that he wouldn't be any use. Many knew him to be the son of Ancient Greece. His country used to be strong and had strong influence in Europe but that it had disappeared by the time his mother disappeared.  
It was a sad story and I felt the need to help him. But what could I do? I was just a small country with little influence and barely money to live on my own.

It seemed like others also thought that they wasn't so thrilled about the thought to take Greece in either. I looked over to where I knew Magda sat. Now when I knew that she was the sister of Germany I could see how alike they were. They had both blond hair. Hers was almost as short as my brother's. Germany had blue eyes and she had bright turquoise and that was the most obvious difference. We had talked a bit after every meeting but I got the feeling that she didn't like me that much.

I feared that the only reason she talked to me was to get close to my brother. Truth to be told, I felt a bit sorry for her as I knew that nothing could come out of it. My brother didn't have girlfriends, at least no longer than a night.

"Do we have any volunteers?" Monaco asked and the room went quiet. A few seconds passed with no one doing anything so I put my arm up. It was not really meant to happen, I just felt sorry for Greece and thought that the wealthier countries was being selfish to not let him stay with them.  
Others seemed to think that I was crazy. Especially my brother. It looked like he was going to fall off his chair.

"Anybody else?" Monaco asked and waited for a few minutes before she looked at me. I could almost hear what she thought. "Dear cousin, what are you thinking?" Then she sighed.  
"The Republic of Dorné will let Greece stay with her until he can get a place of his own", and people nodded in agreement.

"Lois, have you lost your mind?" Francis asked me after the meeting. "He has been living outside for as long as I can remember, he will be fine". I looked at him, I couldn't believe what I was hearing.  
"Don't you want to help those in need?" I asked.  
"Of course, but not by letting a stranger live in my sister's house", he exclaimed. I rolled my eyes. Always the protective older brother.  
"It will be fine. He's probably very nice", I said and tried to calm him down.  
"Not too nice I hope", he muttered.

Monaco walked up to me when Francis left to speak to Italy and Spain. She handed me a paper of information about Greece's stay. She didn't say anything that didn't sound very professional and diplomatic. I couldn't believe it myself that she was my cousin. We didn't look nothing alike. She was five years older than me, but seemed older. I suppose you could say that she was pretty, not as my brother and I, but she had her charms. Her hair was brown which she always braided. Her eyes were brown and she wore glasses.  
"You have to be aware that there will be no money for you even if this is a very kind thing you do", she explained. I nodded and was ready to leave when she took my arm.

"If you need help, you know you can come to me", she said and I could hint a bit of humanity in her eyes. I nodded and smiled faintly at her.  
"Hi", Magda said as she walked up to us. Monaco excused herself and left. Both I and Magda after her.  
"It was a brave thing you did", she told me. "You're a new and green country, not close in wealth as most of the others, still you were the only one that offered to help".

"I don't know what I was thinking", I admitted. She looked at me and smiled.  
"Since we are both new countries surrounded by large super powers, we have to stick together", she said. "Do you want to do something after the next meeting?" I thought about her offer for a minute.  
"Sure", I answered.  
"Great, see you then", she said and then she left to go and speak to Germany.

Perhaps I had judged her too quickly, I thought as I watched how she approached Germany. It seemed like he wasn't very interested in talking to her and she got a disappointed look on her face when he left. I felt bad for her but we weren't that close so I could get into the middle of whatever that was.  
I just had to wait and ask her about her brother until the next meeting.

Then I went home to my cottage by the sea and prepared for my new guest. I felt very excited and hoped that we would get along well. I had never met Greece but I wouldn't try to figure him out before I had actually met him. I would remain optimistic and believe that it would be for the better, letting Greece stay with me.


	8. Part 1, Chapter 7: Magda

**Chapter 7: Magda**

Winter was my favourite season. I loved the cold air, the frost that coloured the lawns and trees white. One year, Ludwig even took me up to Sweden house where there was snow laying on the ground. We would make a snowman and throw snowballs at each other. Even Gilbert was allowed to come. Those were the days when we were a family. When we celebrated Christmas together without the tension hanging in the air.  
Then of course, there was the hot chocolate that Sweden was so kind to offer us. Nobody could make hot chocolate as delicious as he could.

But that was a long time ago. We hadn't celebrated Christmas together for eight years and it was even longer since we visited Sweden to play in the snow and drink hot chocolate. This year I would celebrate Christmas on my own. Ludwig would be at England's house and celebrate with America and Canada and as he didn't ask me so I just presumed that he didn't want me there.

Not that celebrating Christmas on my own wouldn't be enjoyable. This was after all the first year in many that I wouldn't have to worry about being bombed.  
I had prepared a simple Christmas dinner, with sausage, potatoes and I bought some meatballs because I remembered that I really liked them when I was in Sweden's house. For desert I made chocolate cake.

I had just put the cake in the oven when I heard a knock on the door and I wondered who would be out that late on Christmas evening. Perhaps it was Santa Claus I thought to myself and smiled. Oh the time when I actually believed that there was a man climbing down the chimney every Christmas to give me my presents.

To my surprise, Éloïse stood outside and she looked like she was freezing.  
"Come in", I said and opened my door so she could enter.  
"Merci", she said and walked into my kitchen.

During the last three meetings we had went out to eat and discuss different political matters as we both were small countries and needed all the support we could find. I had found out that she had left France's house because she wasn't comfortable around him after war and didn't want to return under any circumstances.  
I told her about my brothers, how much it hurt me that the war separated them and also how sad I felt to leave Ludwig's house. We also shared a lot of interests. She liked reading nearly as much as I did and I almost knew all the songs she liked to play on the piano. Sometimes we could just sit in silence and let our thoughts roam free for a while.

But I never thought that she would show up on my doorstep on a day like this. I had presumed that she would celebrate it with France, he was her brother after all.  
Her clothes were soaking wet. I hadn't even noticed that it rained. Even if I hadn't found out the reason she was there, I hadn't forgotten my manners so I went to find a blanket and made a cup of hot chocolate so she could warm up. Mine isn't as good as Sweden's chocolate but I'm quite certain she hasn't been at his place so she won't know the difference.

"Merci", she said when I handed her the cup. Thank you was the only thing she had said since she got here. But she seemed very upset about something so I figured it would be best to let her tell me in her own time.  
I went into the kitchen and looked at the meal I had made. It was enough to feed two persons I thought and set the table for two.

I went back to the living room where Éloïse was seated and sat down in the armchair on the opposite side of her. Not wanting to rush her, I let her look around the room without saying anything. Then her eyes met mine.  
"I'm sorry for barging in like this on Christmas", she said.  
"That's okay", I assured her and motioned her to continue.  
"I didn't want to spend Christmas alone", she said sadly. I smiled at her and put a hand on her right shoulder.  
"You're welcome here anytime you like", told her and I could see a smile forming on her lips.  
"Are you hungry?" I asked.  
"I'm starving", she answered.

We went to the kitchen and took a seat by the table. She looked down at the food and took up the fork.  
"What's this?" she asked and took up a meatball.  
"Have you never seen a meatball before?" I asked in surprise. She shook her head.  
"The French cuisine is all I know", she explained.  
"Then I think this is much more simple than what you're used to", I said. She shrugged her shoulders and took a bite.  
"It's really good", she said and took another bite. "Is it a typical German dish?"  
"No it's Swedish", I answered. She seemed very eager to learn more about other cultures and asked me to tell her about what I knew of the Swedish culture and then we began to talk about how people celebrated Christmas in different countries.

It was passed midnight when we had eaten up and since it was already too late and dark for her to go home on her own, we decided to have a sleepover. I went to the guest room to prepare the bed for Éloïse.

When I woke up this morning I had thought that this Christmas wouldn't be anything special without my family but it turned out to be quite fun and I couldn't wait for what would happen in the future.


	9. Part 1, Chapter 8: Éloïse

**Chapter 8: Éloïse**

He would arrive any time now and I felt even more nervous than when I attended my first meeting. What if I wasn't a good host? And he wanted to leave as soon as possible? Or maybe he was a terrible person and impossible to live with. He had called the ruins of what used to be a temple his home for centuries. Someone like that mustn't have any manners.

I had called Magda and discussed the matter several times. She told me to relax and not think too much about it before I actually met him. When I agreed to take him in, I hadn't thought about the details behind it. I had just thought that everyone else was terrible unfair for not helping him out.  
How foolish of me, I thought. Should have listened to my brother.

A loud knock on the door woke me up from my thoughts and I could feel a lump grow in my stomach. I wasn't ready and considered running out the back door. But I couldn't run and hide. No one would trust me to do anything else.

I took a deep breath and opened the door. He was tall. That was the first thing I noticed about him. Then his t-shirt, which was probably used to be blue dark blue but had a more greyish tone now. His jeans looked like he had worn them for centuries, I suspected that it was the case.  
Then I noticed his brown hair that fell softly against his face and his grey eyes stared at me expectantly

I realised that I had been staring and felt my cheeks heat up.  
"Welcome", I said and walked into the house so he could enter.

He looked around the room with such intensity that I began to wonder if he thought something wasn't right. If he did, he didn't say anything and just went into the kitchen and then the bathroom and at last, his room.

He had brought only a backpack and it was only two t-shirts and a pairs of underwear. I had to take him shopping one day I thought.  
"I will let you get settled", I said and was ready to leave.  
"Wait", he said with a soft and slow voice. "We haven't been properly introduced"

Another thing I forgot. I strode over to him and reached out my hand slowly he grabbed it.  
"I'm Greece or Heracles Karpusi", he said.  
"I'm Dorné or Éloïse Bonnefay", I said.  
I was ready to let go of his hand but he held it in a firm grip. I felt that I blushed ferociously.  
"Is there anything else you want?" I asked.  
"Do you like cats?" he asked me. I was taken aback by the question. Cats? What had cats to do with this situation?  
"I guess so", I replied. Still very confused.  
"Good", he said and let goes of my hand and left me there alone, feeling utterly confused. I could hear a door open and then close. Greece comes back and in his arms he carries a white fluffy kitten with blue eyes.  
"A gift", he explained and reached out the kitten for me to take. Its fur felt soft under my fingers.

"She's one of my favourites", he said. I looked down at the little thing and it was looking at me with such sadness it its eyes that my heart broke.  
Is this what love feels like? I thought as I put the kitten close to my chest all while petting it like to say that everything was going to be alright.  
"I take it you like her, yes?" Greece asked med. I smiled widely at him and nodded.  
"I named her Athena, after the Greek goddess, but feel free to change it", he said.  
I looked down at the kitten who was purring in my embrace. Athena. I quite liked it and it would always remind me of this day and Greece.  
"I like Athena", I said. We smiled at each other and all of a sudden I didn't feel like it was going to be that hard to live with him after all.

I had invited Magda to dinner and she said that she would bring a few friends with her. Greece didn't know anything about it but I thought it could be fun to have a small gathering to welcome him.

I had decided to make ratatouille for starter, Filet Mignon for main course and Soufflé for desert. I made the menu after not only because it was the dishes I knew the best but also to introduce Greece and Magda to the French cuisine. Magda told me that German and Swedish food was all she ate when she lived with her brother, Germany.

As I was making the dinner I could see Athena exploring the house. She was so sweet when she was lurking around the kitchen. Greece had been very quiet since he arrived but I figured that he must be tired after the journey and would let him rest.  
When I set the table I used mine finest plates and folded the napkins to make them look as swans. Satisfied with my work, I went to my room and changed into a blue dress.

Just ten minutes later someone knocked on the door. Magda stood there surrounded by the Nordics. Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway and Iceland.  
"Hi", she greeted and went inside. All of the Nordics introduced themselves, only their country names and not their human names.  
"Nice house you got here", Denmark exclaimed. "Close to the ocean".

Denmark and Finland seemed to be the ones who was the most interested by my house. Sweden, although walking around didn't seem very impressed by the furnishing. Norway had went over to the piano and was pressing the keys. Iceland stood still and stared with an empty glare into the wall. He seemed so bored that I felt like a terrible hostess.

"You can all take a seat by the table while I go and get Greece", I told them. The mentioning of food seemed to catch Iceland's interest and he was the first one to leave for the dining room.

Greece's room was dark and when I peaked inside I could see him sleeping on the covers. Athena had curled up beside him and was soundly asleep. It was so unbelievable sweet that I couldn't help but smile.  
I felt terrible that I had to wake him up. I lit the light and clamped in. Athena woke up immediately and looked irritated up at me. Greece was still asleep. I cleared my throat loudly but he didn't move.

After a few more failed attempts it seemed like Athena had lost her patience so she jumped up on his chest and put her claws in his skin. He opened his eyes and looked very confused at first but then he noticed the cat standing on him. The two looked at each other for a few seconds before he realised that they weren't the only ones in the room.  
"Hi", he greeted softly.  
"Dinners ready", I told him.  
"Then I should go up", he said in such slow pace that it made me sleepy. I turned around to leave and could hear laughs and voices coming from the dining room when I opened the door.  
"Do you have guests?" he asked.  
"Oui, it's sort of a welcome dinner", I explained.  
"Then I should have brought my nice suit", he said. I felt stupid. How had I not thought about that? He didn't own clothes nice enough to be proper on a dinner like this. The table setting and food was too fancy. Maybe I should ask them to leave, I thought.

During the time had an inner conflict with myself, Greece had walked over to me.  
"It's okay, I'm sure I will like the food", he said and smiled at me. I relaxed a bit and together we walked into the kitchen. All eyes landed on us and it became silent.

"Hi, I'm Greece", he greeted and then everyone told him their names. He sat down between Finland and Magda so the only empty chair was between Denmark and Iceland.

I put the plates with the ratatouille in front of them and everyone examined the dish. Perhaps contemplating whether it was poisonous or not.  
"You're French?" Denmark asked surprised. Magda looked at bit worried at him, probably fearing what he would do next.  
"France is my brother", I explained. Denmark tensed and shot Magda an accusingly glare.  
"You never told me she was related to the enemy", he said. I had forgotten that Denmark was a part of the Allies during the war. He was one of them who didn't openly show his disgust towards the Axis or vice versa. But I wasn't in the mood to be judge because of my brother's alliances.  
"Oui my brother is France. And oui, he was your enemy during the war but the war is over and I am certainly not my brother", I said and walked over to the opening to the kitchen and pointed towards the front door. "If you have a problem with that you can leave".

Everyone looked at me in shock. They didn't know I had it in me. I didn't know I had it in me. Then Denmark chuckled. He found my outburst amusing and not the slightest intimidating and that made me even more cross.  
"I like you", he said and took a large bite of the ratatouille. I sighed but didn't want to discuss the matter further so I sat down between him and Iceland.

Then the chatter began. Magda was talking with Sweden and Norway, and Greece discussed something about cats with Finland and Denmark. So Iceland was the only left. Of all the Nordics, he was the one that looked the least alike. He had white hair and purple eyes.  
"Do you like it?" I asked and pointed at his plate. He shrugged his shoulders.  
"I've made it from scratch", I said proudly. Silence. He said nothing.  
"I've mad soufflé for desert". Still he said nothing. I was about to say something else when Denmark poked me on the shoulder.  
"Don't trouble yourself, he's not very sociable", he explained.

I wondered if it was the truth or if he just didn't want to hurt my feelings, probably the latter as Iceland began to talk to Norway about something so quietly that I couldn't hear what they were saying.  
Magda and Finland saw that no one was talking to me so they began to ask me questions about the house and about the French culture, and I forgot how I had been ignored by Iceland.

We had reached the desert when Magda stood up, clinking her spoon at the glass. Greece sent me a questioning look but I just shrugged my shoulders as I had no idea what she was up to.  
"I and the Nordics wants to thank you, Éloïse for making this wonderful dinner", she said. "Also, we want to tell you what a kind person you are to let Greece into your house, but we're not letting you do all this by yourself".  
Denmark looked like he would burst any minute and I suspected that he would reveal everything if Magda didn't hurry up.  
"I have spoken to Germany and we have decided to support you with some money….." Magda said.  
"And we're going to make the furniture for Greece when he can afford a house and it's all for free", Denmark interrupted. I turned to look at Greece who looked very thoughtful. Then he smiled.  
"It would be very nice of you", he said. I smiled gratefully at Magda.

The evening went on and I relaxed more and more. I spoke to Finland and Denmark the most, because they were the most outgoing but I also managed to get Sweden to talk for a bit and Norway told me about a strange ritual that could make my brother disappear.  
However, Iceland never answered any of my questions and so I stopped asking them.

When they had to leave Denmark gave me a hug. I was so surprised that I only stood there like an idiot.  
"You're not so bad after all", he said.

The house became silent after they left, and it was just me, Greece and Athena left in the house.  
I went over to the piano and began to play a soft melody, which I remembered my brother once playing. I didn't remember the lyrics but the melody itself felt so sad that I imagined it to be a sad love story, worthy to match the one of Romeo and Juliet.

I kept playing over and over again until my eyelids felt heavy, and then the song stopped.


	10. Part 1, Chapter 9: Magda

**Chapter 9: Magda**

I looked down at my watch and cursed loudly. I was late. Again. Usually I would have thought of a good excuse, traffic, broken alarm clock, kidnaped, arrested, anything that was believable. But today I would go with the truth that I overslept. My brother wouldn't be pleased but he didn't live with me anymore and couldn't judge me.

With determined steps I made my way to the building where the world meetings were held. I noticed that I wasn't the only one who was late this particular day. Spain was looking like he was just getting out of bed. His hair was a mess and it looked like he had just thrown something on when he woke up and realised that he was late.

"Hi", he greeted when he saw me and when I got closer I could spot a red mark on his neck and I knew that had delayed him.  
"This is the part you're supposed to say hi back, chica", he said and I realised that I had been staring down at his neck. I looked down at the ground and could feel my cheeks heat up.  
"Hi", I mumbled and hoped that he wouldn't torment me by saying anything more. He chuckled and opened the door so I could enter.

That day I wished that it was time to change our seats but today wasn't my luck as Monaco openly told both me and Spain that we had to be in time to the next meeting and then she told us to sit down. I could see Éloïse from the other side of the room raising her eyebrows and smirking at me and Spain.

"As I was saying before I was interrupted", Monaco continued. Spain leaned closer to me and I could feel his breath against my neck but I tried to seem unaffected by how close we were.  
"Why were you late?" he whispered. I shrugged my shoulders. "So you did something and don't want to tell me?" I had forgot that only my brothers understood what I meant when I shrugged my shoulders. I turned my face to him.  
"If you think that I was up to similar activities as you, you're mistaken, I just overslept", I told him. He chuckled and turned his attention back to Monaco and I felt a bit proud of myself that I told him that without stuttering.

After the meeting, Ludwig walked up to me. I was surprised to say the least as he barely acknowledged my presence nowadays. He had a stern expression on his face and he gripped my arm to lead me away from the others so no one would hear.  
"I know that you want to be independent but your behaviour puts me in a bad position", he said.  
"Because I was late?" I asked him. Who was he to judge me? He couldn't boss me around anymore and I wouldn't believe that anyone minded me being late now and then. It wasn't the end of the world.  
"You know very well what I'm talking about", he said sternly and I could see that he was very angry.  
"No I don't, please enlighten me", I told him.  
"You're late and then you come in with Spain and you're not even trying to hide your recent activities with him", he said so loudly that everyone could hear. The room had gone quiet and all eyes were on us. He believed that I would do something like that? I looked at Spain who was looking very uncomfortable. And it would become even more so.

I strode over to Spain with determined steps and didn't even care that everyone saw us. Confusion was written in his face and I hoped that he would just play along. As he was a bit taller than me I grabbed him by the collar and pulled him down so that our lips could meet. Since it was my first kiss I had no idea what I was doing, but his lips felt soft on mine and I relaxed and closed my eyes. He had been taken by surprise but kissed me back and I wondered if it was just a natural response or if he actually wanted to kiss me.  
Then I realised that the kiss had went on for a lot longer than I had expected and it scared me how much I liked it. I knew that he had been with someone this morning and now I was kissing him. It made me feel dirty so I broke the kiss and before he could say anything I walked away. I passed Éloïse and told her with my eyes that she should follow, and she did.

When we came outside of the meeting room I stopped and started to hyperventilate. Had I just did that? Did I kiss Spain? In front of everyone? How stupid can one be? Ludwig will be so pissed at me.  
"What was that all about?" Éloïse asked me curiously. She had been eyeing me and Spain for the entire meeting and I suspected that she thought the same as my brother.  
"I was proving a point", I replied.  
"To who?" she asked with a worried expression.  
"To….. Ludwig, I guess", I said. She sighed.  
"So you and Spain?" she asked carefully.  
"Nothing had happened, we both just happened to be late and he was already looking like that", I explained.  
"So you just kissed him in front of everyone to prove to your brother that you weren't doing something with Spain?" Éloïse asked.  
"No, I was just showing him that he can't decide who I date", I told her.  
"But now everyone thinks that the reason you didn't show up in time was because you were doing something with Spain", Éloïse pointed out. I hadn't really thought about it.

I felt myself blush and I felt so ashamed. It was so stupid of me. I will be ridiculed for all eternity.  
"Never let me do anything like that again", I told Éloïse.  
"You know you will do it again", she said and put a hand on my shoulder as we walked outside of the building.

We went to sit on a café as we hadn't really had time to talk much since the dinner she held for Greece. We had talked a few times over the phone, she had told me how much Greece slept and he could go out and sit in the sand and just stare dreamily up in the sky for hours. But other than that, we didn't really talk.  
Right now she was the only one I felt like talking to, not Ludwig and especially not Spain.

"What do you want?" the waitress asked us. She had red hair, pale skin and she had a thick layer of eyeliner and looked like she wanted to anywhere but here.  
"A cup of hot chocolate, please", I said and the waitress scribbled something down and then looked Éloïse.  
"The same", she said and the waitress wrote something down on her notepad and left us.

"So how is Greece?" I asked Éloïse.  
"Good, he's still not used to living in a real house but he's getting there", she said.  
"I have been thinking of getting a roommate as well", I said and Éloïse looked up at me with a questioning look.  
"It's just that it's pretty lonely in my house", I explained. "Not that I would ever want to go back to Ludwig's house", I added. Éloïse looked at me a bit thoughtful.  
"You could always offer someone who needs a place to stay a room", she suggested. It had crossed my mind to ask Gilbert, but he was my brother and I feared that he wouldn't see the house as my mine.

"When I think about it, I don't want to have a roommate", I said. Éloïse chuckled. We talked about many things that afternoon and decided that we had to do it more often and I forgot about my kiss with Spain and the fight with Ludwig. I felt happy with life.

 **I just want to point out that this story will contain, especially in the first part, phrases in different languages. The only two languages I know are Swedish and English, everything was written with the help of Google Translate so they are probably not right. As far as transalation is concerned, you will have to translate it yourself since I have no idea what all those sentences mean anymore.  
I hope you enjoy this story and look forward to more chapters, it will be much better and exciting in the future. **


	11. Part 1, Chapter 10: Éloïse

**Chapter 10: Éloïse**

I had spent the day in my bed as I hadn't been particular well and didn't feel like leaving the house that day. Greece had sitting outside on the beach and just staring out over the sea like he usually would and I didn't really feel like joining him.  
Magda had called me three times already and I hadn't answered once. I knew what she was going to talk about. Spain. It had been about him every day since the kiss and I began to get quite annoyed. I just wanted her to stop talking about it and just admit that the kiss actually had meant something to her. But she was too embarrassed to say that it could be a slight chance that she could have feelings for Spain, an enemy to her brother.

The only time I left bed was to go to the kitchen and make some tea. It was already February, but it was not very warm and I wondered if Greece was cold just sitting outside in a t-shirt. Not even Athena wanted to go out. She had been laying in the bed with me. As I waited for the water to heat up, I heard a knock on the door. I sighed loudly but went to open the door. I couldn't just let someone stand out there in the cold.

First I thought that it was Magda that stood outside but I was very surprised to see that it wasn't her. It was Finland. He smiled at me brightly when I opened the door.  
"Hi", he greeted and I expected him to say something more, perhaps an explanation as to why he was here in the first place. But he just stepped inside and walked to my kitchen without even being invited in.

I followed him into the kitchen and was taken aback of how straight forward he seemed, I would never imagined that he was. He began to look through the cupboards and took out two cups and filled them both with water. Then he took out two tea bags.  
"Are you going to tell me why you're here?" I asked and began to be more irritated on the intruder. He gave me the cup and looked a bit apologetically.

"Sorry but I just needed something warm", he said.  
"Alright, but doesn't excuse you just barging in here like you owned the place", I told him and he looked down at his cup.  
"Yeah, I know", he said.  
"Now tell me why you're here", I demanded.  
"Of course", he said. "I was just wondering if you had heard something from Magda, I don't have your number so I went here". His question puzzled me. I knew that he was friends with Magda but he seemed very concerned. Then I realised the meaning of his question.  
"Isn't she at home?" I asked. Finland shook his head.  
"No, I thought she might have went here", he said. Fear began to fill me. What if her calls hadn't been about Spain but something else entirely? Maybe she was in danger and I had just ignored her calls all day. I'm such a horrible friend.  
"No I haven't seen here", I said. "I will try to call her". I took out my phone and dialled her number and for every signal that sounded without her answering made me feel even worse.

"Hello?" a voice said on the other side. A male voice.  
"Who are you?" I asked without even greeting the person.  
"No need to be so rude, you were the one who called", the voice said. "I'm the awesome Prussia". Prussia? Magda's brother? Why would he answering her phone?  
"Where's Magda?" I asked.  
"She's here somewhere", Prussia replied. I was beginning to lose my patience.  
"Can I talk to her?" I asked. He sighed but then I could hear the phone being handed over to someone else.

"Hello?" the familiar voice of Magda made me relax a bit.  
"I'm so sorry that I didn't answer the phone earlier", I said.  
"It's okay, I just needed some help at the house but when you didn't answer your phone I called Gilbert", she explained.  
"But you weren't at home when Finland went to look after you", I said.  
"We went to buy a few things", she said.  
"I'm just glad that you're okay, I think that someone here want to speak to you", I told her and gave the phone to Finland.

Then they began talking and I got the feeling that Finland cared a bit too much about Magda's wellbeing that was necessary, so I left him alone to talk to her. I went back to my room and curled up in my bed with Athena. I don't know how long he talked to her but when they had said their goodbyes he still didn't leave. Instead he went to my room.  
"Aren't you feeling well?" he asked. I shook my head.  
"Not really", I answered tiredly.  
"Do you want me to take care of you until you feel better?" he asked. I couldn't help it but I smiled. His intentions was sweet but I didn't want him to be here when I just wanted to go back to bed.  
"No, I just want to sleep", I replied.  
"Okay, but sorry again for the intrusion and thanks for everything else", he said and left. I put my cup on the side table beside the bed and laid down again.

When I woke up again I could smell food. My head still felt very heavy and my throat fell sore but I was hungry. So I forced myself out of the bed and walked into the kitchen. Greece stood by the stove. He turned to look at me when I entered.  
"Hi, I'm making moussaka", he explained. "Have you ever tried some?" I shook my head. All I ever have eaten was food made by my brother and he just made French food.  
"You're going to love it", he said and gave me two plates.

With heavy steps I went into the dining room and sat down. He had put glasses and a pitcher with juice on the table. I put down the plates and sat down. Just a few minutes later Greece takes out something from the oven and takes it to the table.  
It looked like some kind of lasagne and it's delicious.

"Do you like it?" he asked and I nodded my head.  
"It really is", I said. Athena had jumped up on the table and walked over to me and started to cuddle with me. She wanted some moussaka too but I wouldn't let her so she went over to Greece and tried the same thing and he gave in the second she looked at him with her blue kitten eyes.  
"You shouldn't spoil her like that", I told him but couldn't help but smile.

We ate in silence and then we made the dishes together and I didn't feel as bad anymore. Greece went to the living room and sat down in the armchair.  
"Can you play something for me?" he asked and pointed at the piano. I nodded and sat down. Not even knowing what I was playing I just let my fingers go over the keys. I could see in the corner of my eyes, Greece closing his eyes.

As I played I disappeared to another world, I was walking on a beach in a sunny far off country. I was free and didn't feel the sickness inside me anymore and I wondered if it existed such a place with no pain. Then the music stopped.


	12. Part 1, Chapter 11: Magda

**Chapter 11: Magda**

"Is he there?" I asked Éloïse and Finland that I had asked to me outside. Éloïse sighed loudly.  
"No he isn't there", she replied. "But you will meet him anyway, you sit next to each other".  
"Maybe he won't even be there", I said. "He wasn't there the last time".  
"Exactly, so I don't know why you're so worried", Éloïse said tiredly. She was still a bit weak after her cold and I suspected that she was quite tired of my nervous outbreaks.  
"Why do you care what Spain thinks anyway?" Finland asked.  
"I don't", I replied quickly but both Éloïse and Finland looked at me and was clearly not believing me.

This would be the second meeting since my very public kiss with Spain and the last time, many people had sent me glares, either in disapproval or just annoyance. Luckily, Spain hadn't showed up that day but he couldn't ignore the meetings forever. Ludwig had been ever more distant to me since then and I hadn't even bothered to try to mend our already broken relationship.

"Let's go", Éloïse said and grabbed my arm and forced me into the meeting room. We were the first to arrive, except Canada who always was early. He just looked at us when Éloïse forced me to my seat.  
"You", she looked at Finland who sat just a few seats from. "Make sure that she doesn't run". Then she went to her seat on the other side of the room. Finland went to sit on Sweden's seat and looked at me with his kind eyes.  
"Don't worry, I'm not going to run", I told him. He didn't move and just kept staring at me and I felt very uncomfortable.  
"Could you not stare?" I asked him and his face went red and he looked away. Éloïse was looking down at her phone and seemed very uninterested on what was happening in the room at the moment.

A while later, America and England arrived. They looked at everyone in the room and when their eyes landed on me I could see them changing to disapproval. They had seen it, just like the other Allies, as a betrayal to them. I looked down at the table and felt smaller than I ever had before.  
Sweden arrived with Norway, Denmark and Iceland and Finland moved to his usual seat. Even Sweden seemed to hate me, although I'm not sure why. He was after all neutral in the war. Almost all the countries had arrived and I hoped that Spain wouldn't come. But about two minutes before it would start, he came. His hair a mess and his clothes wrinkled. Another one night stand, I thought and was surprised how annoyed I got by picturing Spain with a woman.

What really did annoy me was that he didn't even look at me. Not a hello as a greeting, it was like I wasn't even there and I felt cross the entire meeting and wanted to ask him about it. When Monaco said that we could leave, Spain basically ran out of the room. But I was prepared for that so I hurried after him.

"Wait up!" I yelled. He stopped very suddenly and turned to look at me.  
"Why are you running from me?" I asked.  
"I wasn't running", he said.  
"Ja you were and you didn't even say hi when you came in", I said accusingly. He sighed and started to run his hands through his hair.  
"I really would like to talk, but I can't right now", he said. I had thought that the reason he looked so shabby was because he had been out with someone last night but now when I could look at him, I realised that something was really making him stressed out. All the annoyance I felt towards him vanished and I felt pity.  
"What is it?" I asked him.  
"Nothing", he replied harshly and I knew better than to press the matter further. If it was something he wanted to tell me he would. So I let him go.

Éloïse came after me and some had even began to leave the meeting building.  
"Wonder where he was going?" a kind voice asked. But it made my blood freeze and feel very uneasy. The voice belonged to no other than Russia. Although, I had promised myself to not listen to others stories about him before actually talking to him, but I didn't feel very comfortable around him.  
"Probably to hide somewhere", Éloïse replied and Russia smiled kindly at us. It was very strange that he talked to us. He seemed to only talk to his sister, Belarus and now he was here, trying to make conversation with us. Something was up.  
"Yes, he should go and hide, for what he did", Russia said but with the same kind tone as before. Both I and Éloïse sent a worried look to each other.  
"What did he do?" Éloïse asked. I wanted to sink through the earth right then. One should never ask Russia anything, concerning people he is angry with. It was only to ask for trouble.

"He know very well what he did", Russia replied darkly. I took a step away from him but Éloïse didn't seem very frightened by him.  
"Maybe you shouldn't be so hard on him, he looked stressed", Éloïse said. Russia's expression softened and he smiled at her.  
"I suppose so, but he should still be punished", he said.  
"I have to go but good luck with your revenge", Éloïse said and waved at him and he waved back at her.

"Why would you do that?" I asked her when he couldn't hear us anymore.  
"Do what?" she asked me like it wasn't a big deal.  
"You talking to Russia, it's like asking for trouble", I exclaimed.  
"Take it easy, he isn't a bad person", she said. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Since when did she see Russia any differently than I did?  
"Relax", she said when she saw my expression. "I was just talking to him".  
"Just talking?" I asked. "It's never just talking with him. He's up to something".  
"Could you be more paranoid?" she chuckled. "Let's go to my place and we will talk about it".

When we arrived to Éloïse's place, Greece and Athena greeted us and I could tell that both of them were a lot more comfortable now.  
"I'll make you some tea", he said and went into the kitchen and we went to sit in the living room. I began with all the reasons why she shouldn't talk to Russia, and she listened to me and nodded now and then to assure me that she was listening. But then she just shrugged her shoulders and told me that she wanted to see for herself before judging him.

Then we sat and talked to Greece until it got dark and I had to go home. I was still thinking about Spain and how he had acted. I was wondering what might be troubling him. But it would remain a mystery for a bit longer.


	13. Part 1, Chapter 12: Éloïse

**Chapter 12: Éloïse**

When something changes, not in the sense of the weather or clothing, but the change in relationship, you don't know how it has changed until it's too late. The feelings you have for a certain person is different and you can't choose to feel differently. I had never had a crush before, not even the slightest tingling when I looked at someone, and now I had a crush on the person I shouldn't.

It sneaked up on me in the shadows and took me by surprise. We had only been living with each other for a few weeks but I found him very funny to be around and longed to wake up every morning to see him. At first I had denied that the feelings even was there. It was completely inappropriate to feel that way. I had taken him in of kindness and not because of a silly crush.

My new found crush had made it more difficult to act normal around him. Either I was acting cold towards him because I don't want to make him suspect anything, but mostly I was just a stuttering and blushing mess every time he asked me something. Even my piano playing had become a lot more cheerful since I realised that I had stronger feelings for Greece than I first thought.

I hadn't even dared to talk to Magda about it. She was still stressing about Spain and about his odd behaviour towards her on the last meeting. It would only make everything seem so official if I told her. Like I would have to do something about it.  
But I wasn't in love with him or anything, I just liked being in his presence. It was not like I would try to pursue anything, we were living together. If he didn't feel the same, things would become very awkward and very fast.

I was currently, sitting outside my favourite café, eating a croissant. I had left the house early that morning because I didn't feel like seeing Greece and making a fool of myself. So instead I sat here in the February cold and thought about my life. It was quite a good thing to now and then sit back and think about your life. It made you see things from a different light.

"Lois, what are you doing here?" a voice asked. It had never crossed my mind that my brother would go here as well. But then again, it was his favourite café as well.  
"Francis", I said surprised. He sat down in front of me and had a sad expression on his face.  
"Long time no see", he said. The reason was because I had told him not to call me nor come to my house. I could still not look at him without feeling guilty for leaving him.

"May I sit down?" he asked. It was a very strange scenario happening in front of my eyes. The old Francis would just have sit down and begin to talk, but it seemed like he wasn't sure whether I would allow it or not. I nodded my head slowly and he sat down.  
"How are you?" he asked.  
"I'm good", I answered. "And you?"  
"Good", he replied. An awkward silence fell between the two of us and I wondered if we could ever go back to how it used to.  
"How are Greece doing?" he asked. Of course he had to bring him up. Even the mention of his name made me nervous. What if Francis would suspect something? Would he be mad and go to my house to throw Greece out?  
"Are you sure you're alright?" Francis asked me with concern. I met his eyes.  
"I'm fine and so is Greece", I replied.  
"Good", he said and began to drum his fingers against the table.

We sat there in silence for minutes. The only sound I could hear was his fingers hitting the table and it only became louder and louder and, although I was sitting outside it felt like the space around me grew smaller and I couldn't get any air. I stood up quickly and Francis looked surprised at my action.  
"What's wrong?" he asked.  
"I…..I….. I have to go", I stuttered and left him sitting there all by himself.

It pained me that things was so awkward between us and it seemed like there was nothing that could fix the bond that used to be so strong. I didn't know where to go from here. I couldn't go back to the café and I didn't feel like meeting Greece today. So I ended up just walking around on the river bank.

I needed to set my head straight. I wasn't this kind of person. Usually I wouldn't let anyone or anything affect me, but now I couldn't control my panic attacks. After an hour or so, I had to get back to the house. I hadn't even told Greece that I was going out and he might get worried.

It was only a short walk back to my house and for each step I took, I felt more and more nervous. I was so in my own thoughts that I didn't see where I was going so I walked straight into someone and fell to the ground.  
"What the….." I began but contained myself from using a bad word. It wasn't the person's fault that I didn't pay better attention. A pair of blue eyes looked down at me. Lithuania. I remembered him from the meetings. He always looked so frightened of something. It was odd to see him as I had no memory of him living close by. I think he lived closer to Magda, Far East from here.

"I'm so sorry", Lithuania exclaimed and reached out a hand to help me up.  
"It's okay. I wasn't looking where I was going", I told him. He smiled at me and I couldn't help but return his smile.  
"You should be more careful", he said.  
"Oui, I will remember the next time", I said. But something had changed in his eyes, it had gone from kind curiosity to fear. He was afraid of me? Why? Then I remembered that he had been on the Allies side on the war and I had just used a French word. He thought, just like Denmark did that I was ally with France.  
"Don't freak out", I told him. "I'm a friend". He relaxed a bit but didn't seem to believe me.

"You're speaking with a French accent", he stated. "You don't happen to know France, do you?"  
"He's my brother", I admitted. "But we're not really on speaking terms at the moment".  
"Oh, I see", he said and seemed very conflicted, whether he should trust me or not.  
"I will go now", I said. "Because I can see that my presence are making you uncomfortable". I was ready to leave, but when I took a step forward I could feel a sharp pain in my right foot, although I didn't fall back to the ground, I couldn't help the groan that left my mouth as I took another step forward.  
"You're hurt", Lithuania stated and went up to my side. He hesitated for a second before putting an arm around my waist to help me stand up. One second he's afraid of me and the next he wants to help me? Talk about confusing.

"Where do you live?" he asked me.  
"Just a few minutes from here, on the beach", I told him. He helped me all the way to my house.  
"Do you have your keys?" he asked.  
"It's open", I replied. He nodded and opened the door.  
"You should probably lock your door when you leave it. All sorts of people can come in", he said. I couldn't help but smile. Although he still seemed a bit tense, he was worried about me. As soon as we came into the living room, Greece entered with a worried expression when he saw me.

"What happened?" he asked.  
"I forgot that you lived with Greece", Lithuania mumbled and helped me sit down in the armchair.  
"I was clumsy", I told Greece and he smiled at me. His smile always made me blush and I had to look away.  
"Do you have some ice?" Lithuania asked. Greece nodded and went into the kitchen.  
"I don't think it's broken but you should not put too much weight on it for a few days", Lithuania said and examined my foot. Greece returned with the ice, which he had put a towel around and Lithuania put the piece of fabric on my foot. It was cold but the pain numbed as soon as it touched my skin. We sat there for a few minutes, just listening to our breaths.

"I should probably go", Lithuania said all of a sudden and stood up. He handed Greece the ice and with a short goodbye he left the house.

Then it was just me and Greece again and I couldn't help but feel uncomfortable around him. I didn't know what to do. A part of me just wanted to kiss him and another part wanted to kick him out so I would never have to deal with my feelings.  
Greece kneeled down beside me and put the ice back on my foot. It was strange that the same action made by another man didn't make me feel this nervous. He looked at me. As our eyes met time seemed to stop and my heart beat faster. I don't know who the first to move was but somehow our lips met.

They felt soft against mine and I could tell that he had a lot of experience. I didn't, it was my first kiss and a part of me was worried that he didn't like it. But evidently he did as he deepened the kiss. I could feel him moving closer and I put a hand around his neck to bring him closer. Time stood still and we were the only ones who existed in the world.  
But then it was like he woke up. Like he understood what he just did. He broke away and looked at me.  
"I'm sorry, shouldn't have done that", he said and went back to his room.

I couldn't believe what just had happened. Did he kiss me? Yes he did. Did he reject me? Yes he did. I felt stupid. What had I done? Or was I the one who kissed first? I didn't know and it didn't matter. All I knew was that nothing would be the same between us.


	14. Part 1, Chapter 13: Magda

**Chapter 13: Magda**

Fear is a funny thing. Either it makes you paralyzed and unable to move or it gives you the strength to do things you wouldn't usually dare to. I hate to admit it, but I fall into the former category. Talking to strangers, heights, and feelings made me terrified and if possible I would ignore them, yet there's always times in your life when you have to face your fears and make a choice.  
Today would be one of those times. I had to face Spain and confront him. Ask him why he has ignored me for so long. It had left me without sleep for many nights and I feared that rest would never come to me if I didn't know.

I was standing outside the world meeting building, waiting patiently for the meeting between the Axis and Allies to end. Éloïse had said that I shouldn't bother, but I knew that she deep down didn't want me to get hurt. It was something strange about the way she said it, like it was more to it than just a general concern. Like she had been through something similar and didn't want me to end up like her.

It had already turned March and, although not particularly warm, you could feel the approaching spring in the air. Even if I enjoyed all seasons, in one way or another, I had to say that spring was my favourite. The world seemed to wake up again after a long sleep and there was always something hanging in the air. An excitement, which just made you feel careless and free.  
Perhaps that's why I felt so bold that day.

Germany, Japan, England and America were the first one to leave. Ludwig didn't seem to notice me, or perhaps he was just ignoring me. Then France and Italy. Both of them greeted me, but that was more because of their flirtatious nature, than anything else. Lithuania and Denmark left together, the former always looked like he was afraid he would be attacked in any moment.  
Then Russia, Belarus and China. Ukraine left alone with a sad expression on her face. I couldn't imagine how she must feel. I and Ludwig might not be on the best terms but I would never start a war against him. Spain was the only one who hadn't left and of course…..  
"Maggie", Gilbert exclaimed when he saw me. I sighed. I didn't have either the time or patience to deal with him. He put an arm around my shoulder.  
"What are you doing here?" he asked. "Did you come to see the awesome me?" I didn't want to tell him the real reason I was there so I nodded my head.

"Wonderful, you pay for lunch", he said. Feeling defeated I prepared myself to leave with him. Then I saw Spain leaving the building.  
"Spain!" Gilbert said loudly. Spain stopped in his steps and looked up at Gilbert with a tired glare.  
"Prussia", he muttered.  
"Have you met my sister?" Gilbert asked. Spain looked at me and he looked surprised to see me there.  
"We sit next to each other at the meetings", I explained.  
"Great then you can join us for lunch", Gilbert said and grabbed me and Spain in each arm and we had no say in the matter.

If my brother hadn't been there I could have asked him about his strange behaviour, but my brother was there and he happened to be the only one that didn't know what had happened and I wanted things to stay like that for as long as possible.  
Gilbert dragged us to an Italian restaurant and I could tell by how nice the exterior looked it would be very expensive. Spain must have had similar thoughts as he got a troubled expression.  
"Don't worry, Maggie's paying", Gilbert said and dragged us both inside.

It smelled of different spices and faintly lemon and lime. Italian music was playing and it was like you had come to Italy. We sat down by a table and a waitress handed us the menu. Gilbert was talking and talking while I tried to decide what I should have that was the cheapest.  
Gilbert ordered a big bowl of Carbonara and a Pizza. I ordered a small bowl of Carbonara and Spain settled with a small salad, it didn't matter that I told him that he could take whatever he wanted.

When we had got our food Gilbert began to talk about the day's meeting.  
"They're mental", he complained. "Wants us to pay for the damages".  
"You're not even your own country", I reminded him.  
"I know but I'm talking for my friends who has to pay", he said and looked at Spain.  
"I don't think you should discuss the meetings in public", Spain muttered. Someone was in a mood today.  
"Antonio, stop being such a buzz kill", Gilbert complained. "Maggie won't tell anyone"

No, I wouldn't but I knew that everyone would know the details of the meeting by tomorrow if Gilbert had any say in it. Then he told me everything. About the terms that the Axis had to agree on and how fun he thought it was to see Russia scare Lithuania. I'm not sure why Lithuania agreed to go to war against Russia since he was so afraid of him. It was a very brave and foolish thing to do.  
Spain sat quiet while Gilbert was talking and I knew that it was more to it than just ignoring me. Something troubled him and I wanted to find out what.

"Are you even listening?" Gilbert asked me accusingly.  
"Yes of course", I lied.  
"So what was I saying?" he asked.  
"Russia and Lithuania…" I guessed.  
"What's up with you two?" he asked and flicked his head back and forth between be me and Spain.  
"I have to go", Spain said and stood up. Both I and Gilbert looked after him with a troubled look.

"What's with him?" I asked. Gilbert shrugged his shoulders.  
"He has been like that for a few weeks", he explained. I nodded and tried to figure out what had happened that made him change so drastically.

"What happened between you two?" Gilbert asked all of a sudden.  
"Me and who?" I asked dumb folded.  
"You and Antonio", he said.  
"Not….hing", I stuttered. Gilbert smirked at me.  
"You're a terrible liar", he said. I looked around for the nearest exit. Spain was the last thing I wanted to talk about with my brother.  
"Tell me", he demanded. I sighed but obliged.  
"We kissed", I said. Gilbert looked surprised.  
"Just a kiss?" he asked.  
"Just a kiss". Then he began to laugh. And not just a soft chuckle but actual loud laughter. It made me really cross. What was so funny? He contained himself a bit when he saw my annoyed expression.  
"Sorry", he said. "But one kiss? Is that what have made you awkward around each other?" I shrugged my shoulders.  
"Nein, no shrugging of shoulders here fraulein", he said. Gilbert and his disability to let things go. He hadn't called me fraulein in years and would only do it when he was annoyed with me.  
"I don't know", I said. "Honestly". He looked disappointed but decided to not press the matter further.

When we had eaten up and I had paid, I just wanted to go home and try not to get anxious about the failure of the day. Gilbert, however, had other ideas. He walked me home and invited himself in.

"You have such a nice home", he said. Then I knew something was up. He had been here before and not once had he complimented it.  
"Just tell me", I demanded.  
"Why do you always think I want something?" he asked. I raised my eyebrows.  
"It's always something", I replied.  
"So you have a spare room", he stated. "And I sort of need a room".  
"Haven't you your own house?" I asked, although I didn't want to hear the answer.  
"Well, it was on Ludwig's land and he didn't want me to stay", he said. I sighed but I knew I couldn't just throw him out on the street.  
"Fine, I will let you stay here", I said and his face lit up in a smile. He walked over to me and hugged me. The gesture felt strange, since me and my brother wasn't very physical, Ludwig often said that we weren't French and shouldn't try to act like it as he believed only French people hugged to show affection.

"If you don't let me go I will let you sleep on the floor", I warned him and he let go of me.  
"You won't regret it", he said.  
"I'm afraid I will", I muttered.


	15. Part 1, Chapter 14: Éloïse

**Chapter 14: Éloïse**

I had always been pride of my ability to say what I felt about people, no matter how the person in question would react. However, this was a complete different situation. This was not me telling someone off. This was me opening my heart to someone and that might end up with me getting hurt.

After the kiss Greece had acted like it had never happened and that was worse than if he would ignore me. He was showing me that he didn't want a relationship with me and that the kiss was just a mistake.

"Are you even listening?" Magda asked me and brought me back to reality. She had called and told me that the sketches of Greece's house was done and she wanted to show me. Finland had gone with her, not that I was very surprised as he followed her around like a puppy.  
The sketches was a reminder that Greece wouldn't stay forever and therefore they was the thing I hated the most in the world.  
"Don't you like them?" Magda asked worriedly.  
"They're nice", I replied.  
"Nice? Just nice?" she asked. "Then I have failed". She picked up the sketches and tore them apart, much to my and Finland's surprise. She was usually a calm person and I had never seen her lose her temper like that before.

"I'll just have to start again", she muttered and sat down. I wanted to tell her that they were nice but since she had already ruined them I thought it would be best to just stay quiet. It was obviously something else troubling her.  
"Are you alright?" I asked her. She put her head in her hands and sighed deeply.  
"I haven't been sleeping well", she admitted.  
"Why's that?" I asked her. She shrugged her shoulders. I knew her enough to know that it was her way to tell to just drop it. However, Finland didn't know that.

"What is wrong?" he asked her and put a comforting hand on her shoulder.  
"Just let it go Tino", she said tiredly and he pulled back his hand. It was like the heat in the room sank and it became cold. I didn't know what to do or say to break the awkward silence. I wanted to tell her that it wasn't her fault that I was distant. Yet, I didn't want to tell her the reason and especially not in front of Finland, or Tino which was his human name.

"Maybe we should talk about this tomorrow", Magda said and stood up. "You don't seem like you're up for it tonight". I could hear the accusingly tone in her voice and I felt like a terrible friend.  
"Don't go", I said. She sighed and looked at me  
"I'm tired", she just said and made way to the door, Finland following her close behind. She opened the door but before she left she turned to look at me.  
"I'll call you in the morning", she just said and with that they were gone.

I just stood there, staring at the closed door for a few minutes before I realised what had happened. This was the first time Magda had ever seemed to be bothered by me, never before had we disagreed on anything. But today, she seemed very irritated.  
I wanted to call her straight away and apologise but I knew that she wouldn't appreciate that. A good night's sleep might make her a bit happier.

Greece hadn't been home all day long and it had already turned dark. Said he was going on with Italy for a few drinks and with those two it meant too many and a lot of flirting with girls. I didn't want to picture Greece with another girl. It made me jealous and made my feelings for him clearer.  
I realised that I always called him Greece. Even after he moved in. Magda called Finland, Tino and they were just friends. Should I start to call him Heracles? Maybe then he will realise his undying love for me. I couldn't help but chuckle to myself. When had I become a sad and love struck teenager? That wasn't who I was. What a boy thought of me shouldn't matter.

I knew that I wouldn't be able to fall asleep until Greece had returned. Mostly because I was worried that he wouldn't come back. That would mean that he probably had drunken too much and was laying by a road, unable to walk or he was lost and couldn't find the right way to go. That was what I told myself and tried to ignore the chance that he might have followed a girl home.

To ease my mind a little I went to the piano and began to play. It was a more gleeful tune that I would usually play. I felt that it might cheer me up but not even that could lighten my mood. So I tried to read my favourite book, and then watch my favourite movie, but neither of that worked and so I just sat in my couch with a cup of tea in my hand, trying not to fall asleep, in case he called and needed help.

When the clock struck one I gave up the hope that he would come home so I decided to go to bed. But as I was putting my cup in the kitchen I saw that England's house was lit. Either he was afraid of sleeping in the dark and therefore had all the lights on or he was still awake. He wouldn't mind company, I thought and decided to go there.  
I put on my coat and shoes and went out in the night.

It was already in the middle of March but as it was in the middle of the night, it was freezing and even colder as I was at the coast. The short way to England's house seemed to take forever but I got there.  
I could hear music playing inside and wondered if he had friends over. Then I would look very foolish. I gained the courage to knock and England opened the door. He looked very surprised to see me but let me in.

"Are you alone?" I asked him and he nodded. That was the first time I was inside England's house. It was massive and the interior was like taken from the Victorian era. As posh and stylish you would think that an English noble would live like. He led me to the large kitchen and I sat down by the kitchen island.

"Do you want something to eat or drink?" he asked.  
"Tea please", I said and he nodded.  
"What owes me the pleasure to get a visit from you at this hour?" he asked me.  
"Couldn't sleep", I replied.  
"Fair enough", he said. "Can't sleep either. Been a long day".  
"Is it the meetings between the Axis and Allies that keeps you awake?" I asked. He was silent for a few seconds.  
"Yeah, I'm worried that Alfred and Ivan won't settle their differences and another war will break out", he said and filled two cup with hot water.  
"I can't imagine what you're going through", I said. He handed me a cup and pointed at the living room. I followed him and sat down in an armchair just by the fire place.

"What about you?" England asked after minutes of silence.  
"What about me?"  
"Why are you awake?" I thought for a moment. I didn't want to tell him the real reason but I didn't want to lie either.  
"Magda was at my place earlier and she seemed quite annoyed with me when she left", I said. Deciding to only tell half the truth.  
"Did you try to call her and apologise?" he asked. I shook my head.  
"Thought it was best to let it be and Finland was with her", I explained.  
"Finland? He's always following her around", he said. "Too bad for Sweden".  
"What do you mean, too bad for Sweden?" I asked curiously.  
"Nothing", England replied quickly. I knew that he was keeping something from me and I wanted to find out what it was.  
"Tell me", I ushered.  
"It's not my place to tell", England said but I wouldn't give up that easily.  
"You can't just say something like that and then not tell me the whole story", I said. He sighed and looked down at his cup before looking up at me again.  
"I don't know if you have heard, but Sweden is, well he has a slight interest in Finland", he said and I could see that it was difficult for him to say that.  
"You mean like romantically?" I asked and England nodded. It wasn't the first time I had heard of it and I didn't find it very strange. My brother, although mostly attracted to women, he had a history of male lovers. So I was used to men being into men.

Although, England might be a bit reluctant to accept it, I knew that what he meant was that Sweden was crushing on Finland but Finland was obviously smitten by Magda and therefore Sweden wouldn't be happy. It was really sad and I wondered if Sweden knew. He must. He was a close friend to both of them.  
"I think that he knows", I stated.  
"Maybe", England said. "I wouldn't dare to go between Sweden and what he wants".  
"It's not like he could force Finland to love him", I pointed out. "That wouldn't be a happy relationship". England took a few minutes to think about that.  
"You're a new country, so you don't know how things works. Most marriages between countries are only political", he said.  
"Isn't that sad?" I asked. "Wouldn't you want the real thing?"  
"It would be nice", England admitted. "But it has been so long that I have quite forgotten the feeling of love".

When I first went over here, I hadn't imagined that it would end up with us discussing such serious matters. But England seem to sense that we were getting into dangerous waters so he changed the subject. And we began to talk about all of England's brothers. All of them which seemed to more or less hate him, except Sealand that England thought like him too much for his liking.  
The clock had already turned three when I decided to go back and I didn't even care to see if Greece had come back. All I wanted to do was to go to bed.


	16. Part 1, Chapter 15: Magda

**Chapter 15: Magda**

"How's the planning of Greece´s house going?" Monaco asked me and everyone was looking at me. I had almost yelled at Ludwig when he said that he should take the responsibility, but now I cursed myself for even uttering a single word of wanting to take care of everything.  
"Eh, good", I replied. Monaco looked at me and I knew that she wanted me to explain further.  
"The sketches are done and have been accepted and Ludwig is working on the budget and I expect it to begin at the beginning of the summer", I said without stuttering once. Monaco seemed to be satisfied by that and moved on to the next question.

"Look who's getting more independent", Spain whispered in my ear. Every time he did that I felt my cheeks heat up and a part of me wanted to turn my face and kiss him senseless. I didn't, obviously.  
"Look who's in a good mood", I said. His mood swings were worse than a woman during her period nowadays. Sometimes he was happy and would talk and even flirt with me. Then on other days, he would be feeling down and reside in his own bubble of sadness. Then he would almost act like I had done something wrong. He was so confusing and I didn't know what to say to him.

Gilbert have been insufferable since he found out. I have been able to make sure that he wouldn't say anything to Spain. I suppose I should be glad that he seemed somehow to accept it. Ludwig still didn't talk to me, not since I had kissed Spain in front of everyone.  
"Can we talk after the meeting?" Spain asked I and the gleeful tone from earlier had vanished from his voice and he sounded very serious. I nodded and felt a lump grow in my stomach.

The meeting seemed to go slower than usual and at one point I just wanted to yell at Monaco to hurry up. I tried to figure out what Spain wanted to talk about. Was he finally going to admit that he's been an annoying and confusing prick for the past few weeks? Was he going to tell me that he hasn't been able to stop thinking about the kiss? Or was he just going to ask me about something silly, like if I could water his plants while he was away.  
"That's was all for today", Monaco announced and I was the first one to leave the meeting room.

"Someone's feeling frisky today", Spain said when he came out of the building. One of the last ones doing so.  
"What did you want to talk about?" I asked, ignoring his joke. His smile faded and he pointed at a bench a bit further away. It made me feel very uneasy and I got the funny feeling that he was breaking up with me. I know that it couldn't be possible as we weren't even together.

"I feel like I should begin to apologise because of my behaviour for the past few weeks", he said.  
"Your behaviour? You have been so happy all the time", I said sarcastically. Spain smiled at me.  
"I don't know if you have heard it but…" he began, a bit reluctant to finish the sentence. "I'm sort of poor". I had heard of it. How Spain didn't want to pay the Allies because that would mean that his people would starve.  
"I know", I said. It didn't really matter. I hadn't much money myself, the only reason I didn't have money problem was because I was such a small country. However, I don't understand why he had to tell me. He must have known that I already knew, everybody did. So it didn't explain why he brought it up.

"Was there anything else you wanted to say?" I asked him and I could see that he was uncomfortable. I didn't like this change between us so I reached out my hand and placed it on his right arm. He looked at it and I could see him blush. It was a victory, to see him react like that under my touch.  
"It's sort of embarrassing", he said.  
"Tell me", I demanded and I could see that my bossiness scared him. "Please", I added.  
"I want to take you out on a date, but I can't pay", he admitted. One second, two seconds, three seconds, I don't know how many passed until the words reached my brain. He asked me out. I couldn't believe it. I wanted to sing my heart out, wanted to dance like no one was watching but most of all I wanted to kiss him. Would that be too fast? Probably. But he liked me, why else would he ask me out? The last kiss didn't scare him away.

So I grabbed him by the collar and crashed my lips on his. The kiss was quick and he didn't have time to react before I broke away.  
"Don't worry, I'll pay", I said. "How's tomorrow?"  
"Tomorrow's….. Good", Spain stuttered.  
"Pick me up at eight", I said and couldn't help but peck him on the lips before I stood up and left.

Something inside me was doing flips and I couldn't believe what just had happened. Was it just a dream and I would wake up in any minute and feel sad because it wasn't true? But it was true. My lips still tingled after I had kissed him and I was surprised how strong the urge was to kiss him again.  
Tomorrow night I would go on a date with him. He liked me and I found myself smiling like an idiot because of it.

"Either you have finally lost it or something good have happened", Éloïse walked up to me and I jumped as I thought she had already left. I felt myself blush.  
"So Spain likes you", she said as a statement. "Knew it".  
"How?" I asked.  
"Come on, since you kissed him in front of everyone I have seen him look at you", she said.  
"He asked me out", I admitted and my smile grew wider.  
"Really?" she asked in disbelief.  
"We're going out tomorrow", I said.  
"Fun for you", she said but her tone had changed. She sounded bitter.  
"What´s wrong?" I asked her.  
"Nothing", she replied. That was a lie. Was she jealous because I had a date and she didn't?  
"Fine, don't tell me", I spat and was ready to leave.  
"Just be careful, he might just use you for your money", she said. That was it. I couldn't take it anymore. Who was she to judge? The guy she was interested in lived with her and she paid everything for him.  
"Because no one would be interested in me otherwise", I muttered and left her standing there.

Things had been strained between us. Even since that day when I and Finland went to her house with the sketches. I might not have been in the best mood but there was no use in being rude to me.  
It was sad that we were fighting. She was my closest friend and now I didn't have any one to talk to. No one understood me as much as she did. And now we were fighting. Perhaps it was just how it was meant to be. Our brothers hated each other and so should we. It was just stupid, no silly to even think that we could be friends.

I had been so happy when Spain asked me out and now it was clouded with my encounter with Éloïse. Couldn't she just gone home when everyone else did? Then we wouldn't have met and things would be sort of fine between us.

Gilbert noticed my bad mood and seemed to decide to not ask me about my day. After a few hours I forgot about Éloïse and my depressing mood was replaced with a happy one, again.  
"Is it that time of the month again?" Gilbert asked at the dinner table. I was humming to myself and smiled widely at everything Gilbert said.  
"I'm just happy", I said.  
"You weren't when you go home", he pointed out.  
"I don't want to think about that", I said and continued to hum on a love song I had heard a while ago.

"Since you're in such a good mood, why don't we talk about my things that is still in Ludwig's house", he said. I looked at him, my smile never leaving my face.  
"I can get them first thing in the morning", I said. "Then you can have them here".  
"So you're letting me stay?" he asked hopeful.  
"Of course brother", I said.

Only when I went to bed did the bliss fade out and I realised what I had promised.


	17. Part 1, Chapter 16: Éloïse

**Chapter 16: Éloïse**

It would be a terrible day. The cloud forming in the sky and the fact that I woke up far too late that I intended told me that. It didn't feel like it was April. I was cold and wanted to spend the entire day in bed. But I couldn't, of course. I had responsibilities. Important matters to attend. Then I remembered that I had nothing to do that day and that made me even sadder.

Any other person would have been thrilled to have a day off. But not me. I wanted something to do. I _needed_ something to do. Anything to keep my mind off from Greece and Magda. Had I been a more emotional person I would probably just watched sad movies and cry my heart out. As if I couldn't do anything about my situation.  
But I could do it. The phone was laying on desk and I could easily call her and apologise for my behaviour yesterday. Although, I wanted to tell her that I was just worried as a friend and Spain was a complete womanizer. Couldn't she just be a bit more thoughtful? I didn't want her to end up hurt.

I could hear someone in the kitchen and decided it was best to go up so that the terrible day could come to an end. Greece was standing by the stove. Making pancakes. He was still in his pyjamas and he couldn't have woken much earlier than me.  
"Good morning", he said without leaving the frying pan with his eyes.  
"Morning", I muttered and went to the fridge. It was very empty and I tried to remember the last time I went grocery shopping. Too long ago it seemed. So I went to get a pen and a piece of paper to write down things to buy.

Since I was starving the list ended up very long and I would have to take another look at it just so I didn't buy anything unnecessary. My stomach protests loudly when I walk back to my room to get my coat. The delicious smell of pancakes didn't make things easier and it was with heavy steps I walked to the door.

"Aren't you going to eat first?" Greece asked and I let the coat fall to the ground and then I went to the kitchen. Greece handed me a plate. I smiled at him brightly and went to the dining room.

By the time Greece had eaten on of his I had already eaten all of my five. The breakfast had lighten my mood a little bit but the bad weather made me blue soon enough.  
Even the world seemed to be in a bad mood. It was spring I had still not felt the wonderful feeling of reawakening. The air was still cold I wondered if it would ever get warm. I longed for the summer but doubted that it would ever come.

England's house was dark and I wondered if he was out. Probably. It was already eleven and he seemed like the person that would wake up early. I remembered the night when we had talked. I would like to say that he was one of my closest friends. Although, we only talked once in a while in the middle of the night as we couldn't be seen as friends. France was England's mortal enemy and I was his mortal enemy's sister.

Not many people had gone to the grocery store that day. They were probably hiding at home, waiting for the bad weather to pass. I would have too, if it wasn't for the fact that me and Greece would starve to death if I didn't buy something eatable.

As I was walking through the meat section I bumped into someone. Of course I did, since I was in such a mood to deal with anyone today. The man was tall. Not as tall as Russia or Sweden but taller than me. He had platinum blonde hair and red eyes. He seemed familiar, yet I was quite certain that his eyes wouldn't so easily be forgotten.

"I'm sorry Fraulein", the man said. Fraulein? He was German. Meaning that he was related to Magda. I had heard about her other brother, G something.  
"It's…cool", I stuttered.  
"Don't worry, all ladies get nervous around the awesome me", he said and winked at me. Then something snapped inside of me. It wasn't his fault that I was in a bad mood and was currently not very happy at his sister, but I couldn't help it.

"You think that I'm nervous?" I asked. "That I was so taken aback by your awesomeness that I forgot the ability to speak?"  
"Eh…. I…" he stuttered.  
"Monsieur, I have to tell you that I would never let a man make me feel so small and I don't find you the slightest attractive", I said. He looked hurt but I didn't care. It surprised me how much I really believed what I said. Not the part that I didn't find him attractive, he's gorgeous but not a chance that I would tell him that. How could I have let Greece get into my head like that? I should have been honest with him and if he don't want to be with me. Who cares?  
"Merci", I told G…. Prussia and left him standing there looking after me with a puzzled look.

With new confidence and food to last for the whole week I went home. The sun peeking through the clouds and I could hear birds singing from the trees. Something was going to happen today, be it good or bad. Something was going to change.  
Greece was sitting in the living room with Athena in his lap and he was about to fall asleep when I barged in. He sat up and with tired eyes he looked at me. It was now or never.  
"I like you", I blurted out. He blinked a few times.  
"You do?" he asked.  
"Oui", I replied confidently. Before he could say anything else I went to the kitchen and began to unpack the groceries. I had said it and now the ball was on his side of the court. I couldn't do more and if he didn't like me it would be his loss.

In the corner of my eye I could see Greece entering with Athena close behind. I just kept unpacking the bags. Not even when he put a hand on my shoulder did I let it affect me. I wouldn't be like a girl having a school crush. I was an independent woman and would act like one.  
"Éloïse", Greece said softly. "Look at me". I looked up at him and felt my heart beat faster when my eyes met his. Would this be when he would tell me he loved me and then we would live happily ever after? No, it didn't matter if he didn't. Independent woman, I told myself several times.  
"I'm flattered", he began and I knew that it would end with rejection. I took a step away from him. Trying not to cry. That was not how a grown up woman would react.

"Okay", I just said, surprised by how cold I sounded. "I understand".  
"No you don't", he said. "You're so young". Those words hurt me. I knew that I was young, but age didn't really matter since we all were immortal. He just saw me as a child.  
"Non, I do get it", I told him. "I'm just a child. I have no idea how the real world works". With that I left him standing in the kitchen. With tears in my eyes.

I knew that he would try to talk to me if I went to my room, so instead I ran outside. I just let my legs move on its own accord until I had no energy left and just fell to the ground. This was not how I should have reacted. I should have taken the rejection like it was nothing. That would have been the most mature thing to do. I laying on the ground, like sobbing mess was only proof that I was still a child.

I don't know how long I lie there just crying into the dirty sidewalk. Nor how many people passed me. They didn't seem to want to help me anyway. But then someone laid a hand on my shoulder.  
"Are you alright, miss", a voice said. I recognised it. This was not a stranger, but the name would frighten most of the people who did know him. Russia. I looked up at him. He was only a plump of colours as the tears made it difficult to see any details. However, by the sound of his voice I could tell that he wasn't going to do something to hurt me.

"I'm fine", I sobbed. Way to sound convincing.  
"No you're not", he said. Stating the obvious. I had hoped that he would just leave me alone, like all the others who had passed me. But he just lifted me up and held me in a firm grip so that I wouldn't lay down on the ground anymore.  
"Come on", he said. Not that I had any say in the matter since he lifted me up and carried me bridal style to his house.

I didn't want to tell him to not take me to his house. He might not scare me as much as he scared others, but he was still very intimidating. His house, or palace was huge. Even bigger than Francis's. The interior wasn't as luxurious but beautiful never the less.  
Russia carried me to a sitting room with a fire place. He put me on the couch and put a blanket over me. It was the softest I had ever come upon and I could feel my toes, fingers and ears hurt as they thawed.

Russia gave me a cup of hot chocolate. It was not as sweet as I was used to but it was good. Then he sat down beside me and I knew that he wanted me to explain what had happened. I knew that it was stupid. Insane even. But I told him. Everything. About my crush on Greece, my fight with Magda and he obsession with Spain.  
Afterwards Russia sat quiet for a moment before he smiled kindly at me.  
"You mustn't worry, I think that Greece and Magda is stupid to not want to be friends with you", he said.  
"Have been a bad friend lately", I admitted. "I should have been more supportive".  
"It's not too late", he said. "And if they don't want to see you. You just destroy them". I thought that people exaggerated when they spoke about Russia's dark side but they weren't lying when they said that it was his scariest side.

"I should go", I said and handed him the cup. "Greece is probably looking for me".  
"I suppose so", Russia said more to himself. "If you must".  
"Merci, for everything. We should do this again sometime", I said and was about to leave the room when I realised that I would never find my way out on my own.  
"Russia?" I asked.  
"Da?"  
"Could you show me the way out?" I asked a bit embarrassed.  
"Da, of course", he replied and showed me the way to the front door. Before I walked out in the cold again I turned to him and I stood on my tip toes and kissed his cheek. It was just as a thank you for his kindness and I hoped that he wouldn't think too much about it.

I was right when I had said that Greece was looking for me. I met him close to Austria's house and he looked very relieved when he saw me.  
"Where have you been?" he asked. "I have been looking for you".  
"I was….." I began but decided to not tell him about my visit at Russia's house. "Just needed to clear my mind".  
"Okay", he said. An okay? I had been gone for hours and all he could say was okay? Not even an apology to make me feel better. Greece tried to start a conversation many times during the walk to the house but I remained silent. Tomorrow I will act like nothing ever happened, but today I needed to be a child.

It was a terrible day, I thought when I got home and shut the door behind me.


	18. Part 1, Chapter 17: Magda

**Chapter 17: Magda**

Never had I wanted a sister than that night. The night of my first date, ever. The first date with Spain. Growing up with just brothers had made me, somewhat oblivious to the world of fashion. It hadn't really mattered before.  
Before it was just clothes. Something that you just wore to not be cold. But now it was more than that. It wasn't just a dress or a pair of shoes. It was _the_ dress and _the_ pair of shoes that might determine the future of mine and Spain's relationship. If I hadn't the perfect outfit, he might take one look at me and leave. Of course, such person wouldn't be worth my time. But the possibility was still there.

I didn't know where he was taking me. Perhaps he would let me choose since I was the one paying. Not that I was particularly picky, I would be happy with McDonalds. So since I didn't know where I was going, I didn't know if I should wear something casual or formal.  
In the end I decided on a navy blue dress. Nothing too fancy, yet a bit nicer than what I usually would wear.

Then I spent an hour getting my hair and makeup just right. Who would have thought that preparing for a date would take so long?  
"Do you need help?" Gilbert walked into the bathroom with a smirk on his face.  
"You can't just barge in like this, I might have been naked", I exclaimed.  
"Relax sis, I'm only offering you some help before your big date", he said. I rolled my eyes.  
"Like I need advice from you", I told him. "You haven't been out on a date for months".  
"Because not everyone can see how awesome I am".  
"Whatever gets you to sleep at night", I said and pushed him out of the bathroom. Making sure to lock the door.

By the time I was done I had succeeded to make myself even more nervous than I was in the first place and I'm considering just telling Spain that I'm not feeling well or pretend that I'm not home. However it was impossible to not pretend to be home, as Gilbert was here.

"Maggie!" I heard Gilbert from the entrance hall. It didn't matter if I was nervous. I had agreed to go on a date with him and I would pretend that his presence made my knees go weak and I would definitely not blush.  
With new found confidence I walk out from my room. Gilbert smirks at me when he sees me, but I ignore it. All that mattered was the man standing in the door. He looked at me with such adoration that I almost felt uncomfortable.  
"Hola Chica", he greeted.  
"Hi", I said. We just stared at each other for a few seconds before Spain offered his arm. With a shaky hand I took it and we walked out into the night.  
"Don't do anything I wouldn't do", Gilbert called after us. I ignore it and tried to not fall, the heels I was wearing was monstrous.

We were walking down the road into the small village I lived close to. It was a pretty little thing. With a few shops on the main street that only sold the most necessary. The buses only went once an hour between six AM and seven PM and just twice on weekends. A train station was there too, but that only went once on the third Wednesday every month.  
Most would have hated the isolation but I quite liked it. Especially during the summer. It always made me quite sad that so few people had discovered its beauty. Although, I felt bad for Spain. There was only two restaurants here. One was more of a café and the other, although, very nice, not nice enough to meet his standards.

I was surprised to say the least when he decided to eat the café.  
"They serve the best waffles here", he said when he saw my expression.  
"Have you been here before?" I asked surprised. Why on earth would he be here?  
"Once, a long time ago", he replied and we sat down.  
There was only one other person in the building except me and Spain. It was the chef who also was the waiter. He was a kind man in his late fifties and always made sure that people enjoyed themselves.  
"Guten abend Fräulein Breuchen", the old man said as he walked up to our table.  
"Guten abend Herr Brauer", I said.  
"Ein neuer freund?" he asked and looked at Spain.  
"Ja, this is Antonio Fernandez Carriedo", I said.  
"Ah I see, ein Spanier. Dein bruder won't be happy", he said. At that moment I didn't think that he was such a kind man. How could he mention my brother? I had already told him about how much it pained me that we wasn't talking, but to openly offend Spain was taking it too far.  
"We would like to order", I said, ignoring his comment.  
"Offensichtlich", Mr Brauer said and took up a notepad.  
"I would like to have fishbrötchen and a glass of sprudelwasser, please", I told him and he wrote it down. Then he looked at Spain who looked at the menu and looked like a big question mark.  
"I will take the eierkuchen and a glass of….. Federweisser", he said. Mr Brauer just wrote it down and went to the kitchen but I couldn't stop to giggle.

"¿Qué? What did I order?" he asked and I couldn't help but laugh.  
"You just ordered pancakes and white wine", I said and he blushed. Luckily I wasn't the first one to blush this evening.  
"What did you order?" he asked.  
"A fish sandwich and a glass of sprinkling water", I answered.  
"Perhaps you should do the talking", he offered.

Mr Brauer came back with our food. He sent Spain a suspicious look before he left us alone.  
"So do you often come here?" he asked.  
"Ja, of course, there's not many places to eat at around here", I replied.  
"You should come to Spain with me some time", he said. "A perfect place for una chica tan guapa como tú". I had only little knowledge of the Spanish language but I knew that he called me beautiful. So I broke the promise of not blushing that night, at least I wasn't the first one to.

We spent the rest of the date talking about ourselves and our countries. We left out talking about family. I wasn't ready to share my history with Ludwig and Gilbert just yet and I got the feeling that Spain had things he wasn't ready to tell me either.

When went to pay for the food Mr Brauer leaned closer to me and whispered.  
"Seien sie vorsichtig. Man kann nicht vertrauen die Spanier", he said. It was sweet that he was worried about me but I knew that Spain wouldn't do anything. And so I told him that. In German of course, wouldn't want Spain to think that I shared Mr Brauer's worries.

It had been even darker now and the street lights did little to show us the way. This was of course the perfect reason to walk close to Spain. So I didn't lose him in the dark. That would be very irresponsible of me. He didn't seem to mind as he took my hand.  
It felt nice. Very nice indeed to have his warm hand entwined with mine. It was like the most natural thing in the world and I didn't want to let him go. I had to, in the end. The date had been very good and I had learnt a lot of things about him but I also knew that it had to end very soon. Didn't want him to get the wrong idea of what I thought this was.

My house was still lit and I was quite certain that Gilbert was peeking through the curtains to catch a glimpse of our farewell. Knowing this I just kissed Spain on the cheek and said that I enjoyed it and that we should do it again and he added by saying soon. Then he left. I watched him disappear in the darkness before I went inside.  
A bubbly feeling was inside of me and I couldn't think of something that could make the day better. It had been a perfect date.

"Someone looks smitten", Gilbert said and smirked. I rolled my eyes.  
"Bruder. Nothing you say can ruin my mood", I told him. I took of my heels and that made me even happier. I hated those shoes and would only keep them as a memory of my date with Spain.  
"If I knew that you would become this relaxed after a date with Spain I would have brought you together a long time ago", he teased.  
"Would you become less annoying if I brought you together with someone?" I asked.  
"I'm too awesome", he said. I threw a shoe after him but it hit the wall instead. I was a terrible thrower.


	19. Part 1, Chapter 18: Éloïse

**Chapter 18: Éloïse**

Who said that ignoring your problems wasn't the solution? That person was right. Completely right. My said problem was Greece and I had been ignoring him – as much as you can ignore someone who lives with you – for two weeks. It had been difficult in the beginning because he really didn't get that I ignored him. He wanted to spread salt in the wounds and try to talk to me about it. Like seeing him every day wasn't a painful reminder too much.  
I know that I was being selfish. It was not he who had forced the air between us to change. If I wouldn't have had a rush of courage. I should have let him make a move, or in this case, not make a move. I should have realised that he wasn't interested when he didn't.

However, it reached a point when he simply gave up trying to communicate with me. Now our only interactions was when I called for dinner or if one of us accidentally barged into the bathroom while someone else was in there. This, happened far too many times that I was comfortable with. I should fix the lock.  
So I had finally gained the peace I craved, yet I couldn't feel as satisfied. I missed him. The warmth his mere presence seemed to fill me with. Did I really have to tell him about my crush and ruin that feeling? Couldn't I just be satisfied of the feeling of a crush? The feeling of rejection was worse and not worth the energy I put down ignoring him.

I found myself thinking about my problem a lot. It wasn't healthy to think so much about a man. Had I left my brother's house – which I more than once had seen as a prison – to walk into another one? My brother had said more than once that I had always been very feminist. It was something I was rather proud of. Always had. But for the past year, my former beliefs seemed to have faded.

"Ellie", a voice called me. I had left the house early in the morning and had spent the day in the park. It was nearly seven in the evening when I decided to go to a bar. My brother never let me go to a bar, but he wasn't there to order me around so I went to a bar and drank my first glass of wine. It had become a few more and I felt a bit tipsy. Might be the reason of my sudden urge to write radical texts about women's rights.  
However, no matter how many glasses of wine I drank, I wouldn't be up to have a conversation with Denmark. Not that I disliked him. He had never been cruel to me. He was simply a bit too much to handle. Also, it was quite a surprise to see him here. It was close to my brother's land and he was quite foolish for tempting fate. Francis wouldn't be happy when he found out that he had trespassed.

A part of me wanted to walk away. Tell him that I had to go home. But I didn't and Denmark sat down beside me.  
"What are you doing here?" he asked.  
"I could ask you the same." I replied. "You're the one that is far from home."  
"Fair enough," he said and waved the bartender over to us. The bartender was a tall and muscular man. He had no hair, instead there was tattoos filling his scalp. He was that sort of man you wouldn't dare to pick a fight with.  
"Que voulez-vous?" the man asked Denmark. He looked at me. Asking with his eyes for translation.  
"Donnez-lui la même chose que moi," I said and lifted up my glass. The bartender nodded.  
"What did you say?" Denmark asked.  
"A glass of red wine," I explained. The bartender returned with a glass to Denmark and refilled my glass.  
"Merci monsieur," I said, but the bartender just shrugged his shoulders and went to help somebody else.

"So why are you here?" Denmark asked.  
"You ask terrible many questions," I said. "I don't know you that well."  
"We have hanged out many times," Denmark pointed out.  
"Oui, but I know nothing about you," I said.  
"Then it's time to change that," he said and took a sip of his wine. "My name's Mathias Køhler." He reached out his hand for me to shake. A bit reluctant I took it.  
"Éloïse Bonnefoy at your service."

After a few more glass, I had begun to get very drunk. Mathias seemed to be immune to the alcohol and found it hilarious when I began to reveal all my secrets to him. I found out a great deal about him, but I was too drunk to remember half of them.  
"I think you should drink some water," he said and asked the bartender to give a glass of water. I was far too dozed off to be aware of what I was drinking. I was only glad that it made me forget about Greece.

When I had somewhat sobered up. Mathias said that I should go home and being the gentleman he is, he would follow me. I was still feeling tipsy and over confident and as I was walking down the road, towards the beach. All of a sudden I felt extremely attracted to him. How could I not have noticed it before? Even as drunk I wouldn't do anything stupid. At least not jump straight into things. Didn't want him to resent me for life.  
"The beach is nice this time of year," I said, not drunk enough to see that it was a terrible conversation starters, I thought I would die of shame right on the spot.  
"Yeah, and it's especially nice during the night time," he said and chuckled. I couldn't help but giggle too.  
"You're so nice," I said and stopped to look at him. Well, as much as you could see in the dark. But I knew he was there. I could hear him breath.  
"Thank you," he said. "You're not so bad yourself."

That was enough of small talk, I thought. It took just one step until I was close to him. His heart began to beat faster and his breaths became shallow. I didn't give him time to take a step back before I kissed him.  
When I had imagined my second kiss. I hadn't pictured it in the middle of the night with Denmark. I had hoped that Greece would have come to terms with his feelings and just sweep me of my feet and kiss me.  
Mathias was a good kisser. That much I could tell. At first he had been too surprised to do anything but then he kissed me back. I don't know how long we just kissed quite shallowly, but then he deepened the kiss. I put my arms around his neck and he put his hands on my waist. We were as close as we could get but not close enough.

I forgot that we were standing in the middle of a road. But when he began to kiss my neck, I knew that I had to say something. So I broke the kiss.  
"Wait," I said. "We're standing in the middle of the road."  
"I have to admit that it's not the most romantic setting but it will do," Mathias said and tried to pull me in to another kiss. Then I took a step back.  
"Non, I meant that we could be driven over by a car," I pointed out. Mathias looked around and I saw that he was going to say something about the fact that the road only led to my house and I never had any visitors. But he didn't open his mouth.  
"So you're place then," he suggested. I thought for a second. Greece would most likely be home and it would be quite awkward if he decided to greet me at the door. But taking Mathias home would maybe make him see that I was moving on.  
"Sure," I said.

As we were walking the short way to my house I felt a certain excitement build up inside of me. I had no idea what this thing between me and Mathias would lead to. Was probably just caused by the amount of alcohol in my blood. But I was young and deserved to have a bit of fun now and then.  
But as soon as I saw my house I knew that the night would end in disaster. Not that I was expecting to make a fool of myself, but the flames eating my roof wasn't a good sign. It took a while before I could process it. My house was on fire.

Then I realised that Athena and Greece might still be in there. So I just ran. Didn't care that I left Mathias behind. All I could think of was to get them out. The fire hadn't spread that fast so I would be able to run inside and look for them without endangering my own safety. Not that it mattered. I ripped a piece of fabric from my dress. One of my favourites, and tied it around my head.  
It was smoke in the entire house so it was difficult to see more than a feet in front of me. I had learnt that should always crawl in these situations but it would take too long to get to Greece's bedroom. It was hard to locate but I knew my house by heart and was aware of all the furniture. Greece's room wasn't as smoky as the rest of the house but it was a level high enough to damage someone's lungs. I could see him lying on the bed. Sleeping. How could someone sleep through something like this? The fire alarm wasn't very quiet.  
Greece was heavy and I wasn't in the best form to carry someone so it was with a lot of effort I carried him out of the house. Denmark stood outside and ran to my side. I could also see that England had joined.  
"Have you called for help?" he asked.  
"I have been a bit occupied at the moment," I said and looked at Greece who had woken up. He looked around and then at me.  
"What happened?" he asked.  
"How am I supposed to know?" I scolded. "You were the one at home." I regretted it as soon as the words left my mouth. It was harsh words. It wasn't his fault.

Then we just stood there as my house disappeared in the flames and all that was left was black coal on the ground. My home was gone and I had nowhere to go.

 **Finally another update! I really don't have time to spare to focus on my writing, unforutunately fiction writing is not a subject. Then I have also been in Paris for the first time which was very exciting and educating since I have learnt that my french is terrible which is a bit sad since I have spent six years of my life learning it.  
Hopefully I will have time to write a bit more time in the future to upload more chapters and actually finish the story but can't make any promises because that would only add stress to my already hectic life.  
Hope you liked this chapter and a fair warning, things are going to get pretty confusing. **


	20. Part 1, Chapter 19: Magda

**Chapter 19: Magda**

I was a morning person. I liked to go up at sunrise. Gilbert wasn't a morning person. Rather the opposite. He could lay in the bed for the entire day if I didn't force him to go up. However, when someone comes and knocks on my door in the middle of the night, I won't be the happy person I usually am. It had taken me long time to fall asleep as I had been on my second date the evening before. This time I had kissed him and my lips tingled a long time afterwards and my stomach made somersaults.  
So I was feeling extra cranky when someone knocked on my front door. I knew that Gilbert wouldn't get it since he always slept so deeply and wouldn't hear if a bomb dropped. So I had to stand up and try to locate the light switch in the dark. It was freezing in the room because I liked to sleep with the window open. Usually I liked the cold. Although, right now I cursed myself for even thinking something like that.

When I opened the door I was prepared to yell at the person, whoever it was to just leave. But I wasn't prepared to see Éloïse standing there with a cat in her arms and Greece behind her. What made it even stranger was the ashes on their clothes.  
"What happened?" I asked.  
"There was a fire," Éloïse explained. She didn't have to say more before I let them into the house.

The rest of the night I spent in my living room. With Greece and Éloïse. They told me the story about how the house burnt down. Neither of them knew how and the fire men couldn't either tell exactly what had caused it since the entire house had burnt down and all the clues with it.  
I gave them a blanket and a cup of hot chocolate each. They had been through a lot and I could sense a tension between them and I suspected it was more to it than Greece's rejection. I would ask he about it when he went to bed. Since my house wasn't particularly big I let Greece sleep on the couch and then Éloïse would share bed with me. It would be like a slumber party, not as happy as I had imagined it would be but it was a perfect moment to question her about the night's events.

"So tell me," I demanded when we sat on the bed and I was certain that no one could hear us.  
"No," she told me. It was a simple answer and as I friend I should have accepted it. Let her tell me when she wanted to. But since she had woken me in the middle of the night and would probably not get any sleep for the remainder of the night.  
"There's more to the story," I said. She nodded.  
"There is," she admitted. "But I won't tell you."  
"We're supposed to be friends and tell each other everything," I pointed out and tried to sound hurt. She sighed.  
"Okay, but you have to promise not to judge," she said. That got me a bit frightened. What had she done?  
"Unless you have killed someone I will be on your side," I said.  
"I went out last night;" she began. "I wanted to get away from Greece for a while." I could understand that. I remembered when I first realised my crush on Spain but he didn't seem to be interested. The lengths I could go to avoid him.  
"I was at a bar," she continued. "And then Denmark joined."  
"Denmark?" I had to ask as to make sure that I heard right. She nodded.  
"Yes and I drank a bit too much," she said. I didn't want to know where this story was headed as I was quite certain how it would end.  
"I didn't mean it to happen. It just did," she said  
"What did you do?" I asked, fearing the worst. She seemed to realise this as well.  
"Don't look at me like that. We just kissed."  
"Just a kiss?" I asked in disbelief.  
"Quite many kisses and something more might have happened if my house hadn't burnt down."

I had to take a few minutes to process the new piece of information. Éloïse had been sad over Greece so she went to a bar and there she met Denmark and they hit it off. When they were on their way to her house where something more than kissing might have happened she had seen the house burn and the rest is history. But the thing was not only about the fire anymore. It was the thing with Denmark.  
"Do you have feelings for him?" I asked a bit carefully. She sighed.  
"I don't know," she replied. "Never thought of him in that way but it felt nice." I could not for the world see what she saw in him but I had to be supportive. I had promised.  
"But what about your feelings for Greece?" I asked. It was easier to just get to the bottom of what had been nagging me since they had arrived.  
"Don't be silly," she said. "You know how I feel. He knows it too. But he doesn't feel the same way."  
"Do you think that the thing with Denmark is just a rebound?" I asked her carefully. I was getting deeper and deeper into something I wasn't sure I wanted to get into. Especially not when I knew what it could unleash. She tensed and her face turned stern. I had somehow offended her. It seemed like I didn't know what to do or say around her anymore. We hadn't spoken to each other since that day when she accused Spain of only liking me because of my money. We both had said things that day, and we hadn't apologised for it.  
"I'm sorry," I said before she could say something else. She relaxed a bit and her expression softened.

A silence fell between us. It didn't feel as awkward as before and somehow it felt like something was settled between us.  
"We should just leave the past behind," Éloïse said thoughtfully. "How could I get so obsessed over a man's opinion about me?" Then she started to cry. It was strange. This was the first time she had ever cried in front of me and I didn't know what to do. Should I comfort her? Should I just leave her till she had no more tears to cry? I decided on the latter. After a while she calmed down and started to laugh.  
"Have history taught me nothing?" she asked herself. "Woman have been looked down at for thousands of years. When we finally have equal rights as men, I'm worrying more what they think of me than how I see myself."

Éloïse had always seemed to be an independent person. She was honest and straight forward. How could I not have suspected she was a feminist as well? Especially with a brother like France, who objectified woman on daily basis.  
"I'm going to make a promise," she began. "A promise to not let a man influence me again."  
When I first met her by my door that night I had seen a homeless and broken young woman but she was growing in front of my eyes. She was younger than me but had more insight about life than what I had in her age. I was only a year older but I only dreamt of a life outside of my brother's house.

We spent the rest of the night talking about woman's rights. It made me realize how much I had ignored her because of Spain. But we forgave each other for everything that had happened and decided to never let any man come between us again.

 **A long time has passed since I uploaded the last chapter but I began to doubt myself and whether this was even worth uploading. I have read through most of the chapters I have written for this story and honestly... some parts are surprisingly good while others are just messy and makes no sense whatsoever. But I want to finish this because maybe somewhere out there will enjoy this story. So here is a new chapter and I will try to update regularly from now on.**


	21. Part 1, Chapter 20, Éloïse

**Chapter 20: Éloïse**

Only when you know how it feels to lose something you can truly appreciate what you got. I lost my house and everything that comes with it. My home was nothing but ruins. I had nowhere to go. To go back to live with Francis was something I couldn't do. Not now when I now what true freedom felt like.  
Magda was so kind to let me and Greece live with her while we figured out what to do. But her brother, Gilbert was also living with her so it was four persons in a house for two so it was quite crowded. Too many times I had walked into someone while going to the bathroom. And someone was either Greece or Gilbert and they didn't wore shirts in the mornings so it had been some awkward situations.  
We had to come up with a solution and that would have to be soon or else I would probably murder someone if I couldn't get at least one moment alone.

At least I had Magda's bedroom all by myself for the day since she had plans with Spain. They had been out on a few dates and it didn't come as a shock when she came home one evening, smiling like an idiot and revealed that he had asked her to be his girlfriend. Even since then she had been in her own bubble of happiness. She didn't even worry about the way Germany looked at her and Spain every time they were together. As they are sitting beside each other at every meeting it have been many of those looks. Not only from Germany but other countries.  
Many wasn't too thrilled to see them together. Mostly because they saw her as a part of the allies since she was Germany's younger sister. Most of them forgot the detail that she was Prussia's sister as well.

I found it quite romantic, although almost as annoying. Especially when Magda would talk late at night with him. The biggest reason I would have against their relationship would be because I was single. I didn't have anyone to talk to all night long, or someone to spend hours just staring into their eyes in a weird lovesick way.  
I had hoped that Greece would have been my pair of eyes to gaze into, but that was just not to be. Then I had also made a promise to myself to not let any boy or man affect me again. This time I would not let my whole world crumble if he wasn't interested. Not that I had any in mind. My heart was still getting over Greece and I just wanted to enjoy being a free woman. There was still that little thing that happened with Denmark. Now afterwards I can see how foolish I acted. I had clearly drunken too much and acted so stupid. Worst of all was that Denmark used my tipsy behaviour caused by the alcohol. So in order to show him that what he did was completely unacceptable I had ignored him.

That day I would go to another world meeting and I knew that he would approach me and try to talk about what happened. However, I will not give in to him. It was stupid. I wasn't even sure that I felt something for him and at the moment it was something I didn't want to think about. I had so much on my plate.  
I knew that the main topic of the meeting would be my house. The most important thing was if the fire was planned and if that is the case who did it. There was still a few question marks about that night. Since it was dark it was highly unlikely that something had caught fire because of the sun and Greece had told me that he hadn't lit the fireplace that night. So it must have been planned.  
The thought was terrifying. Who would want to do something like that? What I knew I had no enemies if they wasn't after my brother and then there was a tiny chance that Greece was the person's target. Whoever it was it was a clear threat to the fragile peace.

"Lois, why are you standing here?" Francis said. I had been standing at the entrance for twenty minutes. Too afraid to face everyone. This would be my first meeting since it happened and I couldn't take all the looks.  
"Don't call me that," I told him.  
"Ma petite sœur, I'm worried about you," he said.  
"You don't have to worry. I'm fine," I assured him. Although a part of me wanted to hug him and cry like I did when I was little and had a nightmare. But I didn't. I was an independent country and I didn't need my brother anymore.  
"Is that why you have been standing here staring at the door?" he asked.  
"Laissez-moi," I snapped and went inside. It had been harsh, I knew that. But I think I had a good enough reason to not be in a good mood. I was after all broke and homeless.

Almost all the other countries had arrived. What I could see America was the only one not in present. Everyone looked at me when I entered. They all looked at me in pity. Which made it a lot worse and I just wanted the entire meeting to be over. I went to sit down on my usual seat between Brazil and Italy.  
"Ciao bella", Italy greeted and I gave him a weak smile. He was probably one of the few that could cheer me up today. I looked over at where Magda was sitting and she was currently having a very intimate conversation with Spain and didn't pay attention to the world around them.  
"What a terrible thing that happened to your house," Italy said. I shrugged my shoulders.  
"Not much I can do about it now."  
Do you know who did it?" he asked me, this time in a whisper so no one but me could hear it.  
"I'm not even sure anyone did," I replied.  
"Do you know who I think it was?" he asked. I shook my head. Instead of answering he just turned his head to the place where Russia sat.  
"Lui mi saventa," he said. I had no idea what it meant but suspected that it had something to do with his fear of Russia. Everyone seemed to be scared of Russia. Even America could be a bit reluctant to start a discussion with him. I hadn't seen why and since the time he helped me I couldn't see him in the same way others did. He was misunderstood.  
"I don't think so," I said. "Why would he?"  
"He does a lot of stuff with no reason," Italy explained.  
"I just don't believe that he would burn my house," I said. "He doesn't even know me."  
"Si dovrebbe essere cauti. You should be careful," he said to me. "Russia is dangerous." I was glad that Monaco entered the middle so that I didn't have to talk to Italy more. Something told me that it would end with me making him cry and I didn't want to be known as the girl who made Italy cry. Not that was difficult, I had seen him cry over a picture of an abandoned kitten.

"Welcome to the world meeting", she began. "Today we have a very tragic matter to discuss. One that proves that the end of the war was just the beginning of something bigger." I had forgotten how good speaker she could be. Sometimes I got jealous because she was so good. It was difficult to believe that we were related.  
"My cousin's house burnt down and all the evidence prove that someone burnt it down." Never before had the room be filled with such serious silence. No one dared to look anyone in the eye. I wanted to point out that no one had found any evidence because the entire thing burnt down and no one had found anything except ruins of what used to be my home.  
"She was kind enough to take Greece in but now they both stand without a home," she said. "They need someone that are willing to let them stay with them until they get back on their feet." A long minute of silence passed and no one seemed eager to help us out. Then Ukraine stood up.  
"I can let one of them stay with me," she said. Then Hungary stood up and offered the same thing. Monaco thanked them both and it was decided that I would go with Ukraine and Greece with Hungary.

Then we spent the rest of the meeting discussing what we would do if the fire had been planned and if one of the guilty was in this room. Not that I think anyone would admit doing it in front of everyone and I had a hard time to believe that anyone would threat the peace that they had worked so hard to achieve.  
Before I went to go with Ukraine to her house I went to Magda who was sitting and talking to Finland. At least she wasn't too busy gazing into Spain's eyes.  
"Éloïse," she said when I came up to them. Finland looked like I had just interrupted a very important conversation. His crush on her was kind of sweet but I felt bad for him as she wasn't interested in him. He must feel like I feel about Greece, I thought.  
"So you're moving out," she said. "I'm going to miss you."  
"Je vais vous manquer aussi," I said and smiled at her.  
"What does that mean?" Finland asked.  
"Just that she's going to miss me too," Magda explained and we shared a hug.  
"I'll come over tomorrow," I said and waved at her before joining Ukraine.

Ukraine was one of the few people I hadn't greeted at least once. Mostly because she always seemed so scared all the time. She had lost the most in the war. Not only had she been scarred but she also lost her brother and sister. Not in the way I did but in a much worse way. The quarrel between Ukraine and Russia was what started the war in the first place.  
"My name's Yekaterina Braginskaya," she said and reached out her hand.  
"Éloïse Bonnefoy", I said and shook her hand.

I might not know a lot about Ukraine, other than that she is the sister of Russia and she was the reason the war began. She seemed nice and was the only one that wanted to take me in so I was forever grateful. The future looked a bit brighter now. There was still hope.


	22. Part 1, Chapter 21: Magda

**Chapter 21: Magda**

I loved spring. It was the perfect season. Not too hot and not too cold. It was just perfect. I would always spend all my days out in the garden appreciating the beauty of nature. This year gave me another to like spring a little bit more. Spring was known for the season of love. Either you fell in love or you got closer to the person you loved. For it was the former. I had always been jealous of all those couples who walked hand in hand down the sidewalk. This year I had someone to walk hand in hand with.  
Although it wasn't appreciated when we did. Most would just at us like we did something wrong. I was well aware of the fact that many was against it. Ludwig had taken ignoring me to a new level. He didn't look at me and he didn't even like people to mention that I was his sister. It hurt a lot and sometimes I wondered if it was all worth it. Then again, when I was with Antonio everything else seemed to fade away. All that mattered was that I was with him. We spent as much time we could together. After almost every meeting we went out and did something. Now and then I was at his place and other times he would come to me. That didn't happen very often since I didn't want Gilbert to embarrass me.  
Spain lived in a beautiful house. It was a mansion that had become a bit rough on the edges through the years but the grandeur was still there. He would always be so gentle and kind. His lips tender against my own. We hadn't gone too far. Just kissing and I didn't feel like rushing things. It was wonderful to just feel the excitement of new love.

Although my heart longed to see Antonio whenever I could, I had to spend some time with my friends also. Especially when Éloïse had moved into Ukraine's house. An investigation had begun to find the person who had put her house on fire. Many wouldn't like to think so but I was certain that one of the guilty was a part of the world meetings. When I wasn't too distracted by Antonio I would take a look around the room and try to come up with reasons why anyone would do it to her. Éloïse was a nice person and hadn't done anything to harm anyone, not that I knew of at least. The person was out after something else. It was a scary thought, but the possibility of another war wasn't so far at it had seemed just a few months ago.

Today I would visit Éloïse for the first time since she moved in. We had talked a bit but we hadn't really hung out and I felt bad for that. I had been a bad friend and would do my best to make it up to her.  
Ukraine's house was not as I had expected. It was a grey building with few windows and a fence surrounded the lawn. It looked more like a prison than a home and I felt horrible for letting my friend stay here. I would have let her stay if I had the room but Gilbert was occupying the guest room and I didn't have the heart to throw him out. He didn't have as big chance as Éloïse to be invited to stay with someone. He was quite difficult to live with. Éloïse opened the door when I knocked and she had Athena in her arms. The cat had grown a great deal since the first time I had seen it. It was still as cute though and seemed even more playful.  
"Come in," she said and walked inside. The inside of the house looked as boring as the outside. Not as much as a prison but not like a home either. You could clearly see the rough times she had been through and it was quite impressive how she still managed to function.  
"Is Ukraine in?" I asked. Éloïse shook her head.  
"Non, she said she had a meeting," she explained. We walked over to what I presumed to be the living room. It didn't have a TV, just an old sofa and a bookshelf with old books. I could see a pile laying on the floor beside the couch and I suspected that it was with those Éloïse made the time go by. I had to bring her something to do next time I visited.  
"Do you want something to drink?" she asked me.  
"Nein, I'm good," I replied. She nodded and sat down. Athena laid down on her lap and began to purr in satisfaction. I sat down beside them. The entire house was very quiet and I wondered if it always was like this.

"How's Spain?" she asked me.  
"He's good," I replied. She nodded again. Something was off between us. Everything we said or asked sounded so cold and awkward. I wondered if it was the house or if it was something between us. But we had solved all the problems and she understood that I wanted to spend time with Antonio.  
"Do you like it here?" I asked her. She shrugged her shoulders.  
"Could've been worse." She had a point. She could have been out on the street with no home.  
"Do you have any idea who might have done it?" I asked a bit carefully. It was still a delicate matter and I knew that she didn't like when people asked her.  
"Non, I didn't know at the last meeting and I don't know now," she said. I was just about to say something else about it when I heard a door open. You could hear the sound of Ukraine's large chest from the hall and she entered the living room. She had a worried expression on her face.  
"Oh hi Breuchen, didn't expect to see you here," she said.  
"Hi Ukraine," I greeted. She and Éloïse shared a look and I wondered if something was going on between them. She hadn't said much how it was to live with Ukraine but I didn't think that they would have any problem getting along.  
"I'll go out and won't return until the morning," Ukraine announced and went in to the kitchen to fetch a bottle containing a brown liquid. I had no idea what it was and I didn't want to either.  
"See you tomorrow," she said and left. When Ukraine had shut the door Éloïse leaned back in the sofa and muttered something.  
"What was that all about?" I asked. She looked at me.  
"I'm not really allowed to bring friends," she revealed.  
"Why not?" I asked.  
"I think the whole war with her brother have made her distrust people," she replied.  
"It must be terrible," I said and thought about Ludwig. We might not have started a war against each other but it sure felt like it.  
"Yes," she said distantly and stared at the wall and looked deep in thought.  
"What are you thinking about?" I asked.  
"Nothing," she answered but I could tell that she was lying.  
"We have to get out of this house," I said and stood up. "It makes us sad and depressed." I reached out my hand to her and she took it.

We walked through Ukraine's land and I couldn't help but feel bad for all the people that lived in ruins. If I only had money to help them I would but I couldn't and so we walked past them and tried not to fell too guilty doing so. Éloïse didn't even look at them, she just walked with her gaze set on something in the distance in front of us. I wondered if it was because she was now one of them. She had even less than they. I knew better than to say anything about it and she seemed to be in a place far away from here at the moment.  
The way to my house wasn't too far from Ukraine's but we decided to go a longer way and go through Italy's lands and then Austria's. I hoped that Spain was visiting Romano since I hadn't seen him in two whole days.  
Much to my disappointment he wasn't there. Just Romano who was in his usual grumpy mood. I and Éloïse decided to not go up and talk to him as neither us was in the mood to deal with him.

I was surprised when Éloïse turned to France's house instead of mine and she didn't explain why, she just kept walking and I had to almost run to keep up with her. She seemed determined where to go and refused to let me in on the reason why.  
"Where are we going?" I asked. She didn't answer me and increased her speed. I could see his house coming closer but instead of walking to his house, like I thought, she continued passed it. The intrigue grew deeper and I was surprised when we entered her land. I had thought that she wanted to stay so far away from that place as possible.  
I hadn't been here since it burnt down and it was a shock that the beach house wasn't there anymore, just ashes. Éloïse looked at it with a puzzled expression on her face. She walked over to the spot where the kitchen used to be and sat down on the ground. It was very strange to witness, also very sad. All the things that was left of her old life was ashes on the ground. It would soon all be a faint memory of an old life.

Not knowing what I should do or say I walked a bit further away to give her some space. She clearly had things to solve by herself and I wouldn't be able to help her. This would be the first time I actually had walked on this beach and just enjoyed the view. The sun was shining but it was quite windy so it was by no means swimsuit weather. But I did take off my shoes and let my feet touch the soft sand. It felt nice but I couldn't quite relax when I knew that just a few metres away someone put my friend's house on fire.  
I could almost see in front of me the house on flames in the night. The flames eating a little more of the house for each passing second. Smoke rising higher up in the sky and the smell attacking your clothes and hair which would take up more than two showers to get off. I could also see Éloïse coming up to the beach with Denmark, slightly tipsy of the alcohol and then noticing the house. The horror and desperation on her face as she ran inside to save Greece and Athena. How could someone do that to her? I didn't know who did it, but I knew that I hated the person and I wanted to find out who it was so that I could show him how it felt to lose everything.

Éloïse still sat on the same spot when I walked back. She stared out over the water. Watching the waves hit the shore. The scene was truly depressing and I found myself writing a poem in my head about it.

 _There she's sitting. In the sand.  
Lost all of her. Soul and land.  
Watching the waves come closer, then away.  
Wondering who could harbour such dismay.  
The ashes under her, reminding her of the past.  
Someone so evil that couldn't let her happiness last.  
Coldness now holds its grasp.  
Around her in a clasp.  
Who wanted to do her such harm?  
That was the question. _

"What are you doing?" Éloïse asked all of a sudden and I returned to the real world. She was still sitting in the sand but she was looking at me now. With a curious expression and I suspected that she had been watching me for a while.  
"Just thinking," I replied.  
"Sit down," she ordered. I did as she told me and sat down beside her.  
"I used to love this place," she said sadly. "I could be out here for hours until my brother would have to drag me home. This was my safe place and if I ever felt scared I would come here. Now I don't even have that."  
"Do you have any idea who could have done it?" I asked. She shook her head.  
"No," she replied. "But I will." Then she stood up and looked out over the ocean again. It was all very dramatic, like taken from a movie and for the first time I could see the great leader I was certain she would come in the future.  
"The person who did this will pay."


	23. Part 1, Chapter 22: Éloïse

**Chapter 22: Éloïse**

"Are you sure you didn't see something out of the ordinary?" America asked. He and Canada had taken the job to investigate the fire and insisted that we would meet up at his house even if it was very far away from Ukraine's house and I didn't even have a car. He had been here four times before and every time he asked the same questions, it was just in different ways he asked them. All he wanted to know was if I had seen something that night. All I could remember was the fire and the fear of losing Greece and Athena. I hadn't time to see anything. I had talked to Greece a few times since that night and I was surprised how okay I was with us not being together. His rejection had hurt me in the beginning but I felt in my heart that I could move on. It was just a silly crush and I had much more important matters to occupy my mind with.  
"You have to think," America said. Canada was walking around the house. Doing who knows. Ukraine was following him, just to make sure that he wouldn't ruin anything. Although I doubted it since Canada was much nicer and knew better than to touch somebody else's stuff. Unlike America who had to touch and look at everything. In his eyes anything could be a clue that would take the investigation further. It hadn't been much progress and I admired how determined he seemed to find an answer. I wondered if it was a personal agenda behind it or if it was simply his need to be the hero, probably the latter.

"So you didn't see a tall, blonde man with a dark side?" he asked. Then I realized it. He wasn't out to find who did it. He just wanted to find something that would lead him to Russia.  
"Non," I replied and had grown tired of his game. I wondered if he knew that he was playing with fire. The peace was very fragile and accusing Russia of putting my house on fire could start the war once again. I didn't know who did it, but I was certain that Russia hadn't. Not that I would tell him that. What would I say? That he had been nice to me the few times I had met him.  
"Are you certain you didn't feel a wind of eternal winter?" he asked like it wasn't the most stupid question he could ask. In the corner of my eye I could see Canada and Ukraine enter the room. I rolled my eyes.  
"I know what you're doing," I said. "And if you don't have any better questions I'm afraid I have to ask you to leave." With that I stood up and walked over to Ukraine and asked her with my eyes to back me up. I could tell that she wanted them here as much as I did but I also knew that she wouldn't dare to say anything. She never talked about it, but I knew that America had control over her. Almost as much as Russia used to have. But it was just something they could talk about. It was something forbidden, just like the strained relationship between America and Russia who grew colder for each meeting. The smallest mistake and everything they had worked for would break into pieces. Another war and more blood and tears would be shed.

"We still have a few questions," America explained. "And I won't leave until you have answered them." He crossed his arms and looked at me like he just had won a game or something. Canada walked up to his brother and laid a hand on his shoulder.  
"Maybe we should go," he said quietly to him. America looked up at him. For him it was a betrayal but I had never liked Canada more. With me and his brother against him he searched Ukraine for back up. She just looked down at the ground, muttered something about making dinner and left the room.  
"Fine," he said and stood up. "But this is not over."

I sighed out in exhaustion and sat down at the couch as they closed the door. Ukraine entered shortly.  
"Thanks for the support," I said to her not hiding my annoyance with her. She looked like she was sorry but she didn't say anything. If it was something she hated then it was conflict. It was almost ironic that she was one of the main characters in the recent war. That she had been able to protect her country from Russia was quite surprising. Of course she had gotten a lot of help from the Allies but still.  
"You have to put on your nicest clothes," she said.  
"This is the nicest I own," I told her. It was not the entire truth. I still had the clothes I wore on the night of the fire but you could still smell the smoke even if I had washed it several times.  
"That won't do," she said. "You can borrow something from my wardrobe."  
"Why do I have to dress up?" I asked her.  
"We're having guests", she replied and left the room. I didn't have the heart to tell her that the clothes I was wearing would do fine in a house like Ukraine's. I did as I was told and walked to Ukraine's bedroom. That was the first time I was in that room and it was not as I had imagined it. It didn't look new, by no means. All the furniture looked like it was at least a hundred years old, but I could see it in front of me. During their time of greatness. The wardrobe was enormous and made in mahogany. A sun flower was craved into one of the doors and I suspected that it was a gift from Russia, given to her a long time ago. The inside surprised me. It was full of dresses. All of them in a 19th century style. I picked out a blue dress. It was a pretty yet simple gown and although I wasn't sure if I would fit in among the guests. Surely Ukraine knew that the only dresses she owned wasn't in fashion. I wondered why she hadn't shown them to me before. It was like the room. Old and full of memories. It might by why she doesn't wear them anymore. It probably reminded her the time when she lived with Russia. To complete my look I put up my hair in a hairstyle that fitted the dress. I looked like I was from another time and I quite liked it. Of course it was only for one night since I could never be happy being dressed like a woman from a time where they had no rights.

"You look wonderful," Ukraine said when I entered the dining room. I could see that she had put on a similar dress to mine. Hers was just a bit more fancy which was natural since she was the hostess.  
"What's for dinner?" I asked.  
"Borscht for starter. Varenyky for the main course and syrniki with varenye for desert," she answered.  
"English please," I said.  
"Let me show you," she said and walked into the kitchen. Borscht was a soup made of beetroot. I had made most of the food while I stayed as that was the only way I could repay her kindness and I didn't know any Ukrainian dishes. Varenyky was a kind of dumpling filled with meat. Syrniki was fried quark pancakes and varenye was some kind of jam made of strawberries. Since I shared my love of food with my brother, I found it really interesting to learn about the Ukrainian cuisine. She showed me how to make them and I was more than happy to help her. When we waited for the guests to arrive we set the table. We put an elegant satin table cloth and I took all of the dust from the chandelier. I put candles on the table and around the room and somehow it looked less like a prison. The entire setting matched with my dress, for which I was glad for.

A half an hour later there was a knock on the door. Ukraine hadn't revealed who she had invited to dinner so I was beyond curious to find out who it was. As she was busy putting the finishing touches on the food I was the one to open. To say that I was surprised was an understatement. At the door stood Russia and his sister Belarus. So that's why she never told me who she had invited, I thought. Why on earth would she invite them? I thought they hated each other. Then I remembered that I had to greet them, no matter how puzzled I was over the situation.  
"Bonsoir," I said and let them in. Russia smiled at me and Belarus glared darkly at me like I had offended her or something.  
"That's a very nice dress," Russia complimented.  
"Looks a thousand years old," Belarus muttered and went into the dining hall.  
"Ukraine let me borrow it," I told him.  
"That's very nice of her," he said. "A bit of her older ones though. I have to talk to her about that." There was no way to mistake the dark tone behind his words.  
"Non, she let me choose which ever I wanted," I explained before he would do something foolish. We went into the dining room where Belarus had sat down on one of the ends. She looked like a queen. Like she was made for that seat.  
"Brat, syad' zdes'," she said and patted on the chair to her right. Russia looked very uncomfortable all of the sudden.  
"Eto tikhiy, ya sizhu vmeste Éloïse," he said and reached out his arm for me to take. I didn't know what he said but Belarus seemed even more cross because of it. I took Russia's arm and he led me to the chair on the other side of the room. He then sat down beside me. Belarus kept looking at me with an envious glare. I knew that she was very protective over her brother but seeing her in her true element was very intimidating.

Ukraine entered then with the starter. To make sure that Belarus didn't feel left out she sat down by her sister. It was a relatively large table. You could easily have a conversation without them on the other side hearing.  
"Do you like it?" Russia asked and motioned at the bowl of soup. I nodded. At first it was a strange taste but I quite liked it.  
"Ukraine makes the best borscht," he explained. "I have missed it." It never occurred to me that he had feelings. I knew that he was kind but I could never imagine that he would feel bad for the things that happened during the war.  
"Sestra, you have to be nicer," I could hear Ukraine tell Belarus. I couldn't understand what Belarus said back but it couldn't have been nice as both Ukraine and Russia told her to not use such words. I felt a bit bad because she seemed to hate me even if she didn't know. Although she seemed to hate everyone so I suppose that I shouldn't feel too bad but it was something in the way she looked at me that it felt like it was personal. I couldn't imagine why. I had never done anything to her.

Russia talked a lot, which surprised me. He was very kind but could from time to time say something that revealed a much darker personality. The evening went well and when Belarus and Russia left I was ready to interrogate Ukraine. But when I had bid my farewell to them she had already went into her room and I didn't feel like walking into her room, I could ask her the next day.


	24. Part 1, Chapter 23: Magda

**Chapter 23: Magda**

Summer was here. I could feel it in the air and in the way people seemed to be in a much lighter mood. Even Éloïse seemed to be happier and she had little to be happy over. America continued his interrogation which basically based on finding evidence that would prove that Russia was the responsible. I wasn't sure who to blame. There was no evidence what so ever and I feared that we would always have to wonder. But that wasn't the worst part. As the days grew longer and warmer, the meetings grew colder and I feared that one day someone would have had enough and the war would start again. It terrified me. I wasn't ready for another war, no one was.  
Antonio also felt the anxiety about a new war and he grew more distant and seemed to be deep in thought every time I saw him, which wasn't that often. I know that I shouldn't put too much into it, but it felt like he wasn't that into me anymore. Éloïse would yell at me if I told her for even thinking such things. She would tell me to dump him before he dumped me and show him that I was an independent woman.

Her feminism had become even worse since she had moved in with Ukraine and I could tell that she rubbed off on Ukraine as well. But it was a good thing because Ukraine who always seemed so worried about everything had relaxed a bit and dared to speak a bit more in the meetings.  
Gilbert had grown worse to live with. Somehow he was even louder and even messier than in the beginning and I had grown tired of always hearing him complain about my cooking. To spend some time outside the house I had walked to the library. It was in the building just beside the world meeting building. It was the largest in the country and had books from different countries and eras. I had chosen to read a book about mysteries. It had been something I did often. I thought that if I read enough about it I would somehow come up with an answer of that night. Some clue or person who had a personal agenda against Éloïse. But I had looked through the pages of ten different books and I still couldn't come up with something.

"Did someone see you come here?" A voice asked. I froze. I sat in the more hidden part of the library just because I didn't want to see someone I knew. I couldn't pin out who voice it was and not who answered.  
"No," the person answered. "I made sure of it." There was no way mistaking that I had come upon a secret meeting. Maybe I should go and not listen, but something told me that I should stay and listen and that they would reveal a grand secret that would make everything clear.  
"We have to work fast before someone gets suspicious," the first voice said.  
"We have already prepared for another one," the seconds voice said.  
"Who is the lucky one this time?" Then they both chuckled and left. My heart was beating loudly and I was certain that I just had come upon a few of the guilty ones that put Éloïse house on fire and they were planning to do something else. When I was sure that they had left a long time ago I left my hiding spot. There were a table with four chairs. It was also surrounded by shelves so it was impossible for someone to see them. Nothing looked out of the ordinary and it made me a bit disappointed. I had hoped that they would have left some sort of clue, something that would reveal who they were. But there was nothing. No forgotten note with a date or address. I knew that I had to find out who their next target was so no one else lost their home. I took up my phone.

 **El,  
Have to talk, asap. Huge news  
M **

A while later we met up at my place. Gilbert was out and the things I had to tell her was too big to talk about in public. Since I didn't know who it was I couldn't talk about it around people. As far as I was concerned it could be anyone.  
"What has happened?" she asked me with a worried expression I didn't know how to tell her without having a panic attack. Only then did I realize the seriousness in the situation. I was on to something that could change everything.  
"Has Spain dumped you?" she asked.  
"Nein," I replied. Of course she would think that. I couldn't blame her though, most of the time I had something to say it was about Antonio.  
"Is Gilbert finally moving out?" she asked.  
"Nein, stop asking something and let me tell you," I said. Then I told her everything. It didn't take long since I didn't know much details. Éloïse didn't say anything for a long time. She needed to melt everything.  
"And you're sure that you don't know who it was?" she asked me. I shook my head. I had tried to think about possible suspects but I couldn't.  
"Should we tell someone?" I asked. She looked at me like I said something crazy.  
"Are you kidding? Do you know how dangerous that would be? We have to let this stay between us two until we know who is the responsible." She was right about that even if it would be difficult to not tell anyone. We didn't know who it was and if we did say something we might as well telling the guilty one that we were on to them.  
"What should we do?" I asked her.  
"We go back to the library and looks for clues," she replied.  
"Now? It's ten o'clock in the evening."  
"It's the perfect time. No one will disturb us."  
"Do you want us to break in?" I asked. She smirked at me.

One hour later I was dressed all in black standing outside the library. If we were caught we would be in so much trouble. We walked to the door and I wasn't the slightest surprised to find the door looked. What did shock me was Éloïse using a hair pin to unlock it. Who knew she could do that? The library looked scary in night time. The smell of old books and dust made it look like a horror movie set.  
"Show me where they sat," she whispered to me. We went up the stairs and walked to the remote area where I sat just a few hours earlier. She walked around the table. Looked at the floor, under the chairs and table. It was something desperate in the way she searched the room. She wanted to find something. Once she was certain that there was nothing strange with the table and chairs she began to look on the shelves. Opened books and looked if someone had hidden notes in them.  
"Could you help me?" she asked. I didn't think that I would find something but I helped her anyway. The shelves was two times higher than I was so I had to climb a ladder to reach the top. I wasn't too fond of heights but I tried to no look down. It took half an hour to look through the first shelf without anything interesting found. Same with the next and the one after that. By my fourth shelf I had grown quite bored and tired. It was past midnight already but Éloïse didn't show any intention to stop her search.  
"Maybe we should wait till tomorrow," I suggested.  
"Non, that would be too obvious," she told me. "If wrong people saw us they would know we know." I sighed and continued looking.

I was about to give up by the time I was almost done with my fourth shelf when I come upon something very interesting. It was just by accident I just happened to open that page. It was quite an old book, written in English. What was interesting was that someone had circled two sentences.  
 _Generations back our freedom was stolen from us, but one day we will regain it. Those who wronged us will pay.  
_ There was a possibility that it has nothing to do with the voices I heard but something from within told me that this was the reason. This was the reason they burnt down Éloïse house. This was their agenda. Someone had taken their freedom away and now they were going to take it back. This could lead them straight to the person who did it.  
"El, look what I have found," I told her and held up the book. She walked over and looked at the page.  
"This is not a clue, just a circled word could have been anyone," she said. It hurt to hear her say that. She didn't believe that this could be the answer.  
"We have to continue looking," she said and went back to her shelf. When she didn't look I put down the book in my bag. I knew that there was something about the book and I would find out what it was.

 **This chapter introduces the "book". It has no purpose at all and it will not be of any use... so just ignore Magda's obsession with it in the upcoming chapter. I was not really thinking logically when I wrote about the book. Back then I didn't really care if things were connected in a logical way and I didn't really spend time making sure that I explained certain things...**


	25. Part 1, Chapter 24: Éloïse

**Chapter 24: Éloïse**

When I woke up that morning I had an anxious feeling in my stomach. I couldn't put my finger on what it was but it could have been something with mine and Magda's late night excursion to the library two weeks ago. No one had found out but I couldn't help but feel like someone would. I trusted Magda to not tell anyone but I also knew that she wasn't good with pressure and if someone even got the slightest suspicion and questioned her she would tell them everything and we would be in so much trouble.  
I was going to the first meeting since then and I feared that someone would say something about a breaking and entering. Not that anyone would know it was us. We were careful and it was not like they could see that we were there since we didn't take anything.  
"Are you ready to go?" Ukraine asked me. She had let me borrow one of her dresses. It was a red dust bowl dress with long sleeves. It was an improvement from the 19th century and a lot more comfortable.  
"Oui, just a second," I said and made the finishing touches on my hair. I decided to keep it simple with a braid.

The way to the world meeting house wasn't too far, it was close to Netherlands house and it was a sunny day so the walk didn't feel that bad. I let Ukraine walk the rest way by herself because I and Magda had decided to walk in together.  
"Goten tag fräulein," Prussia greeted when he opened the door. I had hoped to not meet him but it seemed like he knew exactly when I was coming over.  
"Where's your sister?" I asked not in the mood for courtesies.  
"Someone is rude today," he said but let me in anyway.  
"Only for you," I said and walked to Magda's room. It was strange that she wasn't ready to go. She was always ready to go. I knew for a fact that she had a bag under her bed with thing necessary if she ever had to leave as soon as possible. I knocked on the door and heard something fall to the floor.  
"Just a minute," Magda said from inside. I could hear her walk around in the room and then she went to open the door.  
"Hi," she said. She was still in her pyjamas and it looked like she had been up all night. Doing what I wasn't sure of but something must have captivated her mind. Her room was very messy. Dirty clothes lay on the floor and plates with old food was piled up on her nightstand. A strange smell reached my nose and I didn't want to stay in there for too long. Last time I was here it was clean and it didn't smell like something had died. She went over to her wardrobe and was going to choose something to wear. Not able to stand the smell any longer I excused myself from the room and went into the kitchen. Prussia was eating breakfast much to my dismay.  
"She's been like that for about two weeks," he told me. Since the night we broke into the library then, I thought. Had something happened that I wasn't aware of and she had become crazy.  
"Do you know why?" I asked him. He shrugged his shoulders.  
"Nein, I barely see her anymore she just sits in her room, reading books." I sighed out in relief. At least she hadn't told him.  
"Do you know?" he asked and looked at me with suspicion.  
"Non," I said. It was the truth. I had no idea why she all of the sudden had stopped caring about cleaning her room. The thing in the library must have made her more shaken that I first thought.  
"Are you sure?" he asked.  
"Oui," I snapped. He smirked at me.  
"Calm down, I was just wondering. I'm worried for my schwester," he said and he really meant it.  
"I'm sorry," I said. He looked at me with surprise. It was quite shocking for the both of us. Me apologizing to him. It had become a strange world indeed. A few minutes later Magda comes out dressed and her hair doesn't look that bad anymore. She looked like a sane person.  
"Are you ready to go?" She asked me. Then she looked at Prussia.  
Sie haben gut zu ihr gewesen?" she asked.  
"I've been very nice to her," he replied. "Haven't I?"  
"Let's go," I said and dragged Magda out of the house.

"So spill. What is it that have occupied your mind that you have forgotten about personal hygiene?" I asked. She smiled at me.  
"It's a wonderful day today," she replied.  
"You're ignoring the question," I pointed out. She shrugged her shoulders and I knew that she wouldn't tell me no matter how many times I asked her. If something she would only become cross. Instead I would have to think about possible reasons. I remembered the night in the library. She hadn't been very interested in looking through the books but she did show me a page with a circled sentence. Was that what she had been so obsessed with? To see it had something to do with those who burnt down my house. It wasn't like her to obsess over details. It was most likely just a coincidence. I wanted to know if she had found something or if I was right. But we was too close to the world meeting building now and I didn't want anyone to find out that we have been sneaking around the library during night time.  
Spain walked up to us when we walked into the meeting room. He hugged Magda and kissed her cheek. She just smiled at him before walking to her seat, leaving Spain utterly confused. It was strange and I wondered if something had happened between the two or if it was another part of her new personality. I went over to sit on my usual seat between Italy and Brazil. I could sense a tension in the room. It was stronger than usual and I had a feeling something would happen today and I wasn't sure if it would be for the better.

Monaco walked into the middle and held a piece of paper in her hand.  
"First order of business. The construction of Greece's house is nearly finished and he will be able to move in soon," she read from the paper. "There will also be a collection in order to finance the rebuilding of Dorné's house." Several whispers went through the room and I could sense more than one pair of eyes looking at me. I just held my head high and acted like it didn't affect me.  
"About the destruction of her house, America will now present what he have found out during his investigation." People clapped their hands while America walked inside the circle. I didn't know what he was going to say but I was certain that it wouldn't end well. All he would say was that Russia was the responsible one.  
"People, we have been threatened," he began. "Our peace have been threatened by the work of a mad man who wants another war to break out. We can't let this person go free without a punishment." By then everyone was looking around in the room. Trying to pin out who the guilty one would be. I was fairly certain of who he would say it was, although I was quite sure he hadn't done it. Russia was smiling and didn't seem to be affected by everyone looking at him. I wondered if he knew, probably. Hopefully he did and wouldn't be too offended by it. If it came down to it I would defend him.  
"It's with a heavy heart that I tell you all that the responsible is…," that was all he could say before I loud bang sounded and I was flying through the air. I could hear screams and see smoke filling the room. A bright blue light is all I could remember before the world turned dark.

When I woke up later I could feel a sharp pain in my leg. When I opened my eyes I saw that I was laying on the meeting room floor. Around me there was people looking as confused as me. At least half of the people wasn't there anymore.  
"Are you okay?" a voice asked. I looked up at Mathias. He reached out his hand and he helped me up on my feet.  
"What happened here?" I asked.  
"Nobody knows," he replied. "There was a loud bang and a lot of smoke."  
"Who did this?" I asked.  
"I know as much as you do," he told me. I looked around, looking for Magda and my brother. I could see Francis on the other side of the room and sighed out in relief, at least he was safe. Other than me, Mathias and Francis there were few left. The Nordics and The Baltics were all there, so was Netherlands and Belgium but other than that everyone else was gone and I wondered what could have happened to them.  
"Antonio?" I heard Magda's voice piercing through the room. I was glad that she was still there but she seemed to panic as she couldn't find Spain. Me and Mathias walked over to her and I put a comforting arm around her shoulders.  
"We will find him," I assured her.

Those of us who were left gathered around in a circle. No one of us were gravely injured only shaken.  
"What happened?" Belgium asked. No one knew.  
"You should probably see this," Finland said and held up a note. In red letters someone had written a message. _The beginning of the end has begun. The end of your reign. This is our time._

 **That was the last chapter of the first part. As you might have notice, this will change the direction of the story and things will change drastically from now on. At first it was just meant to be a short fluffy story for my best friend to read... but fluff is not really my thing so my mind took the story somewhere else entirely. I will most likely upload the first chapters for part 2 in a a day or two.**


	26. Part 2, Chapter 1: Magda

**Chapter 1: Magda**

"Where are you going?" she asked me. Several hours had passed since the attack and we were still trying to figure out who was responsible. The message didn't put much light on the situation. I had been pacing back and forth in the room. Worrying about Antonio and Ludwig. I knew that it would be stupid to go out of my own to look for them but I hated to not know if they were alright or not. Although, after four hours of empty promises and nothing happening I have had enough and wanted to leave.  
"I'm going to look for them," I said and was about to leave. Denmark, Sweden and Iceland stepped in my way so I couldn't leave the room.  
"Let me out," I demanded. Sweden shook his head.  
"I have to find them," I pleaded to Éloïse but she looked dead serious.  
"We have to stick together," she said. "We don't know who did this."  
"Fine," I snapped. "But we can't just sit here for another four hours."  
"No," Netherlands said. "But we have to be smart about this."

We rearranged the tables so that we all could sit down. I sat down between Sweden and Finland because I didn't feel like sitting too close to Éloïse at the moment as I wasn't very happy with her. Belgium laid the message in the middle of the table and we began the discussion.  
"Do you think it might have been Russia?" Belgium asked a bit carefully.  
"Non," Éloïse replied firmly.  
"You don't know that," Netherlands said.  
"I do know," she said. The two glared at one another and it looked like they were ready to kill each other.  
"Fighting won't solve anything," Finland said and I was very grateful that he was here. More suspects were named but no one seemed to have the resources or the agenda behind it, except Russia.  
"What about the micronations?" Iceland suggested. "The note said that it was their time and they might have meant the micronations." We all thought about it for a moment. They sure did have a reason to hate the countries but they didn't have the resources and I highly doubted that Sealand or Kugelmugel or any of the other micronations would be able to pull something like this off.  
"Or Prussia and Romano," Estonia said. He looked a bit apologetically at me. I couldn't blame him for suspecting my brother but I didn't think that he could do something like this.  
"There is only one way to find out," Denmark said. "We have to go to Breuchen's place and see if her brother is home." That was the best thing he had ever said.

Netherlands, Belgium, Lithuania, Latvia, Norway, Iceland and France decided to stay behind while me, Éloïse, Denmark, Estonia, Sweden and Finland would go to my house and see if my brother was there. It was a very short walk to my house but I managed to get very anxious. If he wasn't there they would suspect him and a part of me would do too. I breathed out in relief when I saw that the house was lit and it was with light steps I walked into the house.  
"Hello?" I called out. No answer. I walked further into the house. Looked in the kitchen, living room, bathroom and then his bedroom. He wasn't there.  
"Look for clues," Estonia said. We all spread out in the house. I went to my room since I didn't want anyone but me to look through it. I went to my bed and took out the backpack which I had prepared for something like this. It would be dangerous to stay here now. I had to stick with the group. I packed the book and a notebook. I still couldn't shake the feeling that the book still was a big clue and I couldn't let go of it just yet.  
"What's in the bag?" Éloïse asked curiously. It wasn't really necessary to answer since I knew that she knew exactly what was inside of it. But everyone else seemed to want to know too what was in it.  
"Clothes and survival equipment," I told them.  
"Why do you need that?" Finland asked.  
"Might come in handy," I replied.  
"She's right," Estonia said. "Who knows what the future holds. The attack was only the beginning."

After we have looked through my house without finding anything of interest we return to the meeting building. The suspense grows as we tell them that Prussia wasn't there. I hated to admit it but I shared their suspicions of him and when he wasn't there. If it turned out that he was guilty I would hate him forever. It was dangerous thoughts and I had to believe that my brother was a good person.  
We sat down at the table again but everyone was tired so we postponed the "what should we do next?" talk until the day after. We needed something to eat and a few hours of sleep before we could think clearly. So much had happened. Netherlands assigned us all something to do. Éloïse and France got kitchen duty. Finland, Sweden and Norway were going to prepare a place for us to stay at. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania would begin to clean up the mess. Belgium and Netherlands would help out where it was needed. I, on the other hand, wasn't assigned to anything. Neither was Denmark or Iceland, but that was because we were going to prepare the breakfast in the morning instead.  
While the others were too occupied I sneak out to the library. I made my way to the usual place and sat down. I opened the book and flipped to the page with the encircled sentence. I stared at it for a while. Hoping it would somehow give me all the answers. But minutes passed and nothing happened. I sighed but decided to keep it for a while longer.

All of the sudden a door opened. My heart skipped a beat and beat faster. Whoever was inside breathed heavily, it was frightening. Then there was the sound of a body hitting the ground and I didn't feel like the person would hurt me. I left my hiding spot and looked down at the entrance. I had to bite my tongue not to scream. Laying on the ground was Canada. Might be America as well but I remembered Canada wearing that coat today. I didn't waste a second. After everything that had happened that day I was almost proud that I didn't fall down the stairs at the speed I was walking down them.  
Canada groaned in pain when I turned him around so that I could see his face. It was bloody and I could see that he had hurt his head pretty badly.  
"Canada?" I asked. He groaned again. It was still too early to tell if I could move him without causing any damage. I was glad that I took my backpack with me. I took out a cloth and a bottle of hand sanitizer to clean his wound. He hissed in pain when the piece of fabric touched his wound. His cut in his head didn't look too serious so I decided to examine his body for further injuries. Normally I would blush furiously by the thought of undressing a man but this case was different and I couldn't let him die just because I was uncomfortable. I lifted up his shirt and to my horror I saw that a wooden stick had pierced his side. It didn't look like it had gone in too deep but I couldn't take my chances. I knew that he could bleed to death if I didn't have anything to stop the blood so I took out one of my sweaters. Slowly I took the stick out while I was saying soothing words to Canada.

With one move I put the sweater over the wound. I could feel the blood sipping through the fabric. I took out a needle and thread from my bag. When I first I had packed it, I had intended to use it if my clothes needed to be mended. Ludwig had forced me to take a medical class if something like this happened. I couldn't in the world suspect that it would come in handy one day. Once I had sewn up the wound I took one of my t-shirts and ripped it so I could use it as a bandage.  
Then I checked his legs, arms and hands but couldn't find anything else. He was still squirming in pain but he was alive. I couldn't let him lay there but I wouldn't have the strength to move him myself. So I sat down beside him and took his hand. I thought that it would make it easier for him to live through the pain until I was certain he wouldn't die if I left him.

There was many questions to be answered. Never had I expected that the world would change so drastically when I woke up that morning.


	27. Part 2, Chapter 2: Éloïse

**Chapter 2: Éloïse**

"Where is she?" Finland asked. It didn't take a genius to know who he was talking about. Magda. She had been gone for hours. I didn't want to agree with him but something was definitely up. Most of the others thought that she had abandoned us. I didn't know what to believe. A part of me didn't want to believe that she would do something like that, not to me at least. But another told me that she had gone to look for Spain.  
"Isn't it obvious?" Netherlands asked. "She has left to join her traitorous brother."  
"You don't know that," I snapped and stood up from my chair ready to fight. We glared at each other while the others held their breaths. It was not like we would start a fight right now, it would be very childish but I would defend my friend with harsh words if it came to it.  
"You're probably in it too," he muttered.  
"How dare you?" I asked. "You know nothing about me." Belgium stood up too and had a sad expression on her face.  
"The last thing we should do now is fighting," she said.  
"She's probably in the library," Finland said. I and Netherlands looked at him. If she still was close then the library would be the place to look in, but she had been away for so long that surely she couldn't still be in there. Although she had been acting quite strange for the past few days so she could very well be hovering over a book.  
"I will go and look," I said.  
"I'll go with you," Mathias said. "For protection." I rolled my eyes but didn't feel like telling him that I could go by myself and didn't need a bodyguard but didn't feel like arguing with yet another person that day so I let him go with me.

We left the meeting building through a smaller door that would get us into the library from the right side. It was dark and smelt even older than I remembered.  
"If you get scared you can hold my hand," Mathias whispered to me. I hit his arm and he chuckled at my reaction. I wanted to tell him that it wasn't the time to flirt. Something sounded by the entrance and I took a step closer to Mathias. Luckily it was dark so I didn't see his smirk. It was something spooky about the library during night time but I would never admit that to Mathias. We walked carefully forward. If this was a movie an eerie tune would play and a horrible monster would be hiding in the shadows ready to attack when we came close enough. I knew that it was stupid to make myself scared but I couldn't help but grab the hem of Mathias coat as we got closer to the entrance. There was a counter standing in the middle of the room and I could hear heavily sighs from the other side. It wasn't one filled with dreadful but with pain. The person lying next to the counter wasn't dangerous in any way. Then I remembered who we were looking for. I stepped away from Mathias and walked around the counter. Leaning against it was Magda sleeping. In front of her laid Canada also sleeping but every breath he took revealed the great pain he was in.  
"Maggie?" I whispered. She stirred and looked at me. It took a few seconds before she recognised me and another few for her to realise what she was. Her gaze turned to Canada who laid on the floor and she sighed out in relief.  
"What happened to him?" Mathias asked and looked at Canada.  
"I don't know," Magda answered. "He had hit his head and a stick had pierced through his side."  
"We have to get him to a hospital," I said.  
"Don't worry, I have taken care of it," she explained and lifted up Canada's shirt to reveal a bandage.  
"Let's take him to the others," Mathias said. I nodded and the three of us helped to carry Canada to the meeting room.

Everyone looked shocked when we entered. Netherlands looked even a bit guilty and I couldn't help but whisper "told you so", when we passed him. Finland ran to Magda's side and showed us the way were they had made up beds. It had never occurred to me that the world meeting building had more rooms than the meeting room. Of course I was aware of all the doors you could see in the corridor but I had never wondered what might have hidden behind them.  
They had laid mattresses on the floor with pillows and duvets. I wondered if they had them stocked up in a storage in case something like this happened. We laid Canada down on a mattress.  
"You have to tell us everything you know," Mathias said.  
"She needs some rest first," Finland said and I nodded in agreement. She had probably saved Canada's life so she deserved some rest. Finland helped her to lay down on the mattress next to Canada.  
"I'll keep an eye on them," he said and sat down beside Magda. Mathias shared a knowing smile with Finland before we left.

"Dramatic day," Mathias said once we were out of the room.  
"You can say that."  
"So what do you want to do now?" he asked and gave me a flirtatious smile. I sighed. He couldn't just drop that night, could he? He took a step closer and put a hand on my cheek.  
"Don't try to deny it," he said and leaned closer. "You haven't been able to stop thinking about that night either." His lips brushed mine but that was all before his hand fell.  
"But I'm not stupid," he said. "A romance at the moment is stupid." With that he left me there in the corridor feeling utterly confused. It would have been much easier if he just had kissed me and left it at that.  
I returned to the meeting room. Belgium and Netherlands sat by themselves while the Baltics and Nordics was talking. Mathias went over to join them. My brother was also sitting alone and I decided that it was time to talk to him about all of this. He looked up at me when I sat down beside him.  
"Salut," he greeted.  
"Ça va?" I asked.  
"Been better," he said and smiled faintly. "How are you?"  
"Could have been worse," I said and returned his smile.  
"He didn't do anything to you?" he asked and referred to Mathias. I shook my head. Nothing to hurt me at least, making me extremely conflicted, that was an entirely different story but I wasn't going to tell him that.  
"I would have beaten his pathetic ass if he did," he muttered.  
"The last thing we should do now is fight," I said repeating Belgium words from earlier. My attention turned to her and her brother. They were having a discussion, a serious one by the looks of it. Probably what our next step should be. I was a bit annoyed that Netherlands had taken the part as the leader of the group and he seemed to be determined that we had to listen to him. Not if I had any say in the matter. A could agree that the situation needed to be handled delicately and with caution but I wouldn't let a man like Netherlands lead the way.

"Lois, I can see the wheels turning in your head. What are you thinking?" Francis asked breaking me out of my trail of thoughts.  
"Nothing particular," I replied. "Just the future."  
"An uncertain one," he said sadly.  
"What are we going to do next?"  
"I don't know."  
We sat in silence then. There was no words that could make the situation better and I didn't know what to tell him. We haven't seen each other for a long time and we had nothing to talk about. It wasn't like when you had been away from someone you held dear for a long time and all you just wanted was to tell them everything that had happened since the last time you saw them. After some time of silence, I had had enough and walked over to Netherlands and Belgium. If there was someone who had come up with a plan it would be them even if I wasn't that keen to talk to Netherlands we had to get things to move forward. Belgium smiled at me when I sat down but Netherlands kept his stern expression.  
"Will your friend and Canada be ready to live in a few hours?" Netherlands asked me.  
"Magda just need some rest, like the rest of us but I think Canada need some time before we can continue," I replied.  
"We don't have some time we need to leave tomorrow," Netherlands said.  
"Why the rush?" I asked him. "Somewhere to be?"  
"I know that you're young but surely you can see that this is not the time for jokes," he said sternly.  
"You think that I can't see how serious this is?" I asked annoyed.  
"I know that you can't," he scoffed. That was it. He had managed in an amount of less than a minute make me angry. I would show him that he didn't want to pick a fight with me. I was just about to tell him something that would make most people gasp.  
"Stop the both of you," Belgium snapped. "We have to get along or everything will be lost." We both looked at her in surprise. Then I felt foolish. I knew that I could be quite rude especially when challenged and I hadn't thought how it would affect the others. Fighting would only make our situation worse. Netherlands sighed but didn't say anything more to annoy me further.  
"I think I will retire now," I said and stood up. "Good talk." It was with a sour mood I went to the sleeping area. Finland had fallen asleep and was laying on a mattress beside Magda. I went to lay down on the other side of the room. It had been a long day and I didn't know how tired I was until I lay down. My body was tired. My mind was tired. My soul was tired. All I wished during the seven year long war was that it would come to an end and now I'm in the middle of something far greater. It was a new world.


	28. Part 2, Chapter 3: Magda

**Chapter 3: Magda**

"Get up!" someone yelled. At first, I thought it was Gilbert who thought it to be funny to wake me up. The uncomfortable mattress beneath me told me that I wasn't home. It all came back to me. The explosion, the disappearance of so many, Canada and then Éloïse and Denmark waking me up and bringing me here. Someone was stirring beside me also waking up. I opened my eyes. I was laying between Tino and Canada.  
"Magda?" Tino whispered. I turned to look at him. He smiled at me. Netherlands walked around the room with an authorial demeanour like he owned the place. I bet he and Éloïse wouldn't get along, it wouldn't surprise me if they hadn't already bickered several times already.  
"We have to get up," Tino whispered. "We're going to leave." It didn't come as a surprise. We couldn't stay here if the people who did this decided to return. But I also knew that Canada was in no shape to travel anywhere. During the night I had lost my backpack, most likely still in the library and I needed to get it back. I sat up and looked over at Canada who was still sleeping.  
"We can't leave," I said to Tino. "He's not well enough."  
"Tell that to Netherlands," he said back. It was not that I was afraid of him, he was just a bit intimidating and I didn't feel like going up against him. Although I knew who to ask, I thought as my eyes searched the room for Éloïse. She was already up and helping Norway and Sweden taking the mattresses away from the floor.  
"Don't you do it," Tino told me and I knew what he was referring to.  
"What?" I asked. "If someone will be able to make them stay for another day it would be her."  
"Do you want hell to break loose?" he asked but I had already gotten up and didn't care to listen to him.

"Bonjour," Éloïse greeted me when I approached her.  
"Guten morgen."  
"It was impressive what you did for Canada," she told me. I shrugged my shoulders like I hadn't really thought about it but it felt nice for someone to tell me that I had done the right thing but it also remembered me the reason as to why I was there.  
"That was what I wanted to talk to you about," I whispered. "He won't be able to travel."  
"Try telling Netherlands that," Éloïse muttered. I gave her a look and she looked highly offended.  
"Don't tell me that you're too afraid to confront him," she scoffed. I wondered if she had already tried talking to him herself that morning and that's why she was so rude.  
"He's not that bad," she said. "Infuriating and bull-headed but I'm sure he will like you more than me." With that, she went to help Iceland with his mattress. I couldn't help but feel a little cross that she had left me to confront Netherlands all on my own without back up. But she was right. It wasn't like he could do anything to me, other than publicly humiliate me and make me feel smaller than I already was. I snapped out of my thoughts and walked up to him. He didn't notice me so I bumped straight into him. I felt my cheeks heat up and I felt vulnerable under his gaze. He looked irritated at me but I wouldn't let that stop me from telling him what was in my heart.  
"We have to discuss this plan to leave," I began. "It's not very wise for Canada to go anywhere for at least three days until I can assure that his wound is healing properly."  
"He doesn't have to come with us," he said. I couldn't believe what he was saying. All along I had thought that everyone agreed that we would stick together. But now he admitted that he couldn't care less who went with him or not.  
"So what you're saying is that we should just leave him here?" I asked. He sighed.  
"We have to act quickly before the people responsible for this mess decide to return," he said and began to walk away from me. But I wasn't ready to give up the fight just yet.  
"That doesn't answer my question," I pointed out.  
"Are all the micronations as annoying or is it just you and your friend?" he asked.  
"Why do you want to leave?" I asked. "Where are you going?" He stopped walking then and looked at me. I didn't feel as frightened by him and was ready to fight him.  
"We're going to a place which is so remote that no one but me and my sister knows of it," he revealed. "Our best chance to a safe place is that and we have to go as soon as possible."  
"How do you know that it's safe?" I asked.  
"I don't," he said. "But I know that we can't stay here." With that, he walked over to Belgium and that was the end of the conversation. I felt like hitting something or screaming. He was insufferable.

Since I couldn't persuade Netherlands to wait a few days before leaving I had to tend to Canada's wound and determine whether we could risk it or not. He was still sleeping and that was the first sign that he should rest.  
"Canada?" I asked carefully. He stirred and opened his eyes. I could tell that he didn't recognise me. I couldn't blame him we hadn't spoken to each other since my first meeting and that was almost a year ago.  
"Where am I?" he asked weakly.  
"You're in the world meeting building," I explained. "There was an explosion." He looked around the room clearly confused about where he was and why. He tried to sit up but he groaned in pain and gave up.  
"You hit your head and your side was pierced," I explained. He lifted up his shirt and looked at the bandage.  
"Who did this?" he asked.  
"I did," I replied.  
"You saved my life," he stated. I nodded. It was the truth. If I hadn't found him he would have died there was no way denying it.  
"Thank you," he said and smiled at me.  
"I have to check your wound," I said a bit embarrassed. He blushed but let me untie the bandage. The stitches looked good although it was too early to tell if it would get infected or not. The cut in his head was another worry because he had most likely a minor concussion and he was in no shape whatsoever to travel. I remembered that I hadn't brought my backpack so I didn't have anything to clean it with. I was just about to tell him that when someone laid the said item beside me. I gave Tino a grateful smile, what would I do without him?  
He groaned in pain when I put a cloth on his wound. I knew that I would have to make Netherlands change his mind or I would stay with Canada and then anyone who wished could stay with me.

I didn't see Netherlands walk up to me. So I jumped when his tall form stood in my light.  
"Will he be able to go with us?" he asked.  
"It's funny that you say it in a way like I would go with you," I replied.  
"Well then this is goodbye," he said. "We can't wait any longer." It surprised me that he bid me farewell. I stood up and looked at everyone who was planning on leaving. The Baltics had decided to go with him and so had the Nordics, everyone but Tino who insisted to stay by my side. France would leave as well and much to my surprise Éloïse. I walked up to her.  
"Aren't you going to stay with me?" I asked. She looked at me in that way that I knew that I wouldn't like what she was going to stay.  
"You said that you didn't think it was wise for Canada to go in his state," I pointed out. "You can't stand Netherlands."  
"Non, I cannot but my brother wants to go and I have decided that I want to go too," she said. I felt tears cloud my vision and I felt foolish for letting the tears come. She was free to choose whatever she liked but I had hoped that she would stay on my side. Now she would leave me to go with her brother, which she had said more than once that she wouldn't let lead her way.  
"I don't understand," I said. I felt that all eyes in the room were directed at us and it made me cry even more.  
"You will one day," she said and with that, she and the others left. Leaving me in a crying mess. Now it was only me, Tino and Canada left. Everyone else was gone. But what hurt the most was the betrayal of whom I believed to be my best friend. I knew better know. She would go with her brother which she swore she would never do and with Netherlands as her leader.  
"It will be okay," Tino whispered and hugged me. It felt weird to have his arms around me as this was the closest we ever had been but the comfort was welcoming and I cried into his chest until I had no more tears left to cry.


	29. Part 2, Chapter 4: Éloïse

**Chapter 4: Éloïse**

During the seven years of war, I couldn't do anything but hope for peace. At night I couldn't sleep because of the cries of so many wounded. How I dreaded to go to sleep at night and when the sun was up I still heard their cries for help, haunting me wherever I went. However now it was not the cries of the wounded I heard, now it was the crying from a friend whose trust that had been crushed and the pieces was so many that it would be impossible to be fully complete again. I was ashamed, I really was and a part of me would always loathe myself for abandoning her. But then again I had my reasons which I didn't have time to explain when we parted because she didn't let me explain before she went to conclusions.  
If she had woken just a few minutes earlier she would have heard my conversation with my brother. One that made me realise that I had to be on his side until I knew he was out of danger. I wish I would meet her again one day so that I could tell her that. I didn't want her to hate me for what I did. Yet, I knew that it would take a long time until we met again since Netherlands had refused to let anyone leave the safe place. It was an ancient castle which was placed in the far north of Sweden surrounded my miles and miles of untouched land. I still hadn't gotten any details what our next step would be and since we had been here for two weeks already I began to wonder if there even was a next step. Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Estonia and Denmark sat locked inside a meeting room all days long but still they couldn't come up with something to do. What annoyed me even more was that it seemed that I was completely excluded from the discussions as was my brother. Not that he was of any use. He spent most of his days outside, brooding over something he refused to tell me about. The only thing I could do was to drown myself in my own regrets and shame.  
There was no electricity in the castle so I couldn't charge my phone and I had gone back to wearing old-fashioned and very uncomfortable dresses.

I was currently walking down a corridor to my brother's chamber. He had asked to have a word with me and I could say that the distraction from my own thoughts was very welcome. However, it was something in the way he told me that it was a serious matter he wanted to discuss and I feared that whatever he would reveal would only make my stay here even worse.  
One of these days something ought to happen. Whatever had happened back at the meeting building it wouldn't be the last thing they did and I didn't feel like hiding for who knows how long. I hoped that Magda did something better with her time than walking around a castle completely useless.  
I knocked on the door when I reached the door. Usually, I wouldn't care about doing so but the time we had spent apart had made me treat him with a little more cautious.  
"Enter," I heard his voice from inside and entered. He was lying in bed. The other place you would find him if he wasn't walking by himself in the gardens. He looked pale and tired. He had never spoken of it but I knew that the disappearance of his friends had made him sick of worry. His usual former self-seemed to have disappeared and I sort of missed his annoying and flirtatious attitude.  
"Bonsoir frère, you wanted to speak to me," I said.  
"Oui," he said sadly.  
"Whatever is the matter?" I asked worriedly. His gaze fell to the floor. I walked over to him and sat down on the bed. It was strange to be so close to him after so long time apart. When I took his hand it felt like holding a stranger but I knew that I had to be there for him.  
"I have just been thinking lately about the things I had done for the past years," he said. "And I'm ashamed."  
"The war wasn't your fault," I told him. It was the truth.  
"I was a part of it," he said. "But worst of all is what I did to you."  
"To me?" I asked. "You have done nothing."  
"I forced you to endure the war," he said and looked up at me. "You hated it."  
"No I didn't mind as long as I knew that I supported you," I said. It was a lie but he seemed in such a gloomy mood already that I didn't feel like making it worse.  
"Can you forgive me?" he asked me.  
"Of course," I said and squeezed his hand. "Why do you ask me this now?"  
"There's nothing to do here other than thinking over one's actions." He had a point. His apology made me feel closer to him and I couldn't dislike his actions during the war as much. But it was the way he said it that told me that there was something behind his words, why he chose to tell me at the moment. But he looked very tired and I didn't have the heart to press him for the truth. It was something that had to wait for another day.

I left him to rest. I should probably go to bed. It was late but sleep seemed to always be so far away nowadays. It didn't matter how tired I was, my shame and regrets kept me awake. As I was too occupied with my own thoughts I found myself in a corridor which I had never seen before. It looked quite similar to other corridors in the castle yet it was different. Something dreadful and mysterious was over it and I wondered who was the castle's last occupant and if their spirit still lingered.  
"Are you stupid?" Belgium's voice behind one of the doors caught my attention. I shouldn't eavesdrop but my curiosity took the better out of me. There was more than one person inside the room and one of them was pacing around the room, probably Belgium.  
"You know we can't stay here," Netherlands said.  
"We can't just leave in the middle of the night," she said.  
"They will find us," he said and for the first time, I could hear a hint of anxiety in his voice. He was actually worried about the situation. Unfortunately, I couldn't use it against him since he would know that I had overheard their conversation.  
"As long as we stick together we will be alright," she said soothingly and I almost believed that she was hugging him. Suddenly I felt that I had intruded on a moment between brother and sister, I wasn't supposed to hear and it made me feel even worse over my broken relationship with my own brother.

I left them and walked to my room. If I would have to be up all night I might as well stay in my room. It was a very large room, presumably used for one of the most important inhabitants of the room. There were a queen sized bed and a balcony from which I had the most lovely view. However, the sun seemed to never set so it was light all night long making even more difficult to fall asleep. The night air felt nice and liberating when I opened the doors. I had a view of the road to the entrance. I and my brother had a minor argument over who would have the room facing the garden. I lost.  
I knew for a fact that my room faced the south and I knew that miles away was Magda, Canada and Finland, doing who knows what. Maybe they had been captured or maybe they had found a clue bringing them closer to finding the people responsible and a small part of me hoped that they were on the way here. I sighed and looked over the forest and missed my piano and my friend.


	30. Part 2, Chapter 5: Magda

**Chapter 5: Magda**

I had never experienced a war before the third world war. All I knew of it was what I had read about in books but never had I experienced the pain and horror. The grief and sorrow. It was something new to me and I hated it. This was slightly different. This was worse. It was no longer an open conflict between countries but this was something which you had no idea who stood behind it. Homes of countries was destroyed every day. For each day that passed, it became more difficult to find somewhere to stay. After three days Canada was able to walk but we knew that we couldn't go to our houses. France, Spain and Italy's houses were the first to go. Then many others followed. I knew all this because the people in the villages we stayed at was always so kind to share the news. Since we didn't know where the others were, we were just travelling around. Just stayed at a place for one night until we continued. It was a new sort of life that brought new kind of challenges.  
Tino and Canada were good travel companions, I could have been stuck with France or Netherlands. Although I missed Éloïse terrible I couldn't forgive her for abandoning me, especially not to go with her brother.

For the night we had found shelter in an old barn in Austria's land. Luckily it was summer so it wasn't that cold. There was something other troubling me, other than the threat of being abducted. Canada's wound. So far it was healing alright, meaning there was no infection but it didn't mean that it wouldn't come. Three times every day I checked his wound. I didn't care to listen to Tino and his complaints that it wasn't necessary. Something inside me told me that I had to look every day so it wouldn't. I couldn't live with myself if it did.  
"Maggie?" Tino's voice woke me up from my dream. We had made a fire just outside the barn and we were sitting on tree trunks that someone had placed around the fireplace. It was a nice and chilly night but I wasn't cold. I looked over at Tino who was looking a bit worriedly.  
"Ja?" I asked him.  
"You seem distracted tonight," he said.  
"There's much on my mind at the moment," I told him.  
"Éloïse and Spain" he stated. I nodded. They were always on my mind, but not tonight. All I could think about was Canada who was sleeping in the barn, or his wound more precisely. Antonio and I wasn't very close the time before he was abducted and I felt bad that I was glad for it. If we had been closer it would have felt even more terrible to be parted with him.  
"Do you have a plan where to go?" he asked.  
"Nein, I have thought about possible ways to handle this but it's all very dangerous, even more so since we don't know who did this." He nodded and looked down at the fire.  
"Should we look for the others?" he suggested. I shook my head. That was something I didn't want to do. They were in a safe place, yes but there was not much they could do from there unless they wanted to make the safe place public. I would much rather stay on the road, travel from place to place while I solved the mystery than sitting locked up somewhere.  
"I miss my friends," Tino admitted. This was not the first time he had said something like this. Many times had he mentioned his fellow Nordic brothers and every time I had to tell him that he chose to stay with me for which I was glad but he had to realise that I couldn't do anything to change the past. Many might believe that I was completely oblivious to the reason Tino decided to go with me. I wasn't blind. But facing the truth would be too difficult since I knew that I would have to break his heart. My heart belonged to Antonio, however, I was beginning to question if I really harboured such strong feelings towards him. I didn't long to be in his presence and although I was worried it was no more than a friend worried about another friend.

"Are you crying?" Tino asked and sat closer. I hadn't even noticed the tears falling down my cheeks. It was a silly thing to cry over. The realisation that I wasn't in love as I had thought.  
"Just worried about my friends," I said and wiped my cheeks. He reached out to take my hand and I was puzzled by the lack of feelings I felt by his touch.  
"They are alright, I can feel it," he said. "And you have me." I didn't look at him but I knew that he was looking at me. He put a hand on my cheek and turned my head. I didn't have time to process it before his lips were on mine. It was a soft and gentle kiss but it didn't make my stomach flutter and I knew that I had to do something before he got the wrong idea. I pushed him gently away and stood up.  
"Es tut mir leid," I said and ran into the forest. I could hear Tino calling me but I needed to get as far away from him as possible. What he had done was cruel. He had kissed me and expected me to return his feelings. I didn't and now I couldn't form the words to tell him. I hoped that he wouldn't follow me and just let me be alone for a while. My feet moved of their own accord. I wasn't sure how far away from the barn I was when I finally stopped. I had problem breathing. Partly because I had been running but it was something else. I was having a panic attack. Everything that had happened was too much. The explosion, Éloïse's betrayal, the realisation, Tino's kiss. It was more than I could deal with at the moment and it would all drown me if I couldn't pull myself together. A part of me hated Tino for what he did. How could he? When times are so uncertain and he was well aware that I had Antonio. I would become the villain when I had to crush his heart.

I sat down by a tree and took a deep breath. Weirdly enough it didn't frighten me to be all alone in the woods at night. The air felt nice in my lungs and being all alone meant that I didn't have to deal with Tino at the moment. I would have to go back soon enough, he was probably out looking for me but I needed a few minutes by myself.  
I knew that letting feelings come in the way would be too dangerous. I had to harden my heart until it was safe again to let feelings make decisions for me. Yes, that was what I had to do. I made a promise to myself under that tree. One that I was determined to keep. I returned to camp. Just as I thought Tino was out looking for me but I didn't care to call after him. He couldn't be that far away. I laid down in the hay and let the sounds of the woods lull me to sleep. Tomorrow would be another day and I was ready to face whatever would come with it.


	31. Part 2, Chapter 6: Éloïse

**Chapter 6: Éloïse**

Doing nothing was something I had grown used to. It was like in the war when my brother refused to let me participate in the fighting. However now when I knew how it felt to actually take action I hated the castle that for every day that passed felt more and more like a prison. Francis was still depressed so I rarely saw him nowadays. Netherlands and Belgium had also begun to pull away from all the living creatures in the castle. Probably planning their escape. I couldn't blame them. I would too if I knew where to go.  
But doing nothing made me feel restless and I often found myself just walking around in circles until my body was exhausted. However, my mind kept me awake. Sometimes I would even wake up from a nightmare but I could never remember what it was about but my fast beating heart and sweaty clothes told me that it must have been something terrible.  
Today was yet another day I just walked around in one of the fancy dresses I had in my wardrobe. I felt like a queen but had no kingdom to rule over so I just sang quietly for myself. That was as close as to music I could come. My fingers yearned to touch piano keys again and my heart longed for the soothing hymn that would come out of it. It wasn't much that I loved more than music. Sometimes Francis joined me and sometimes Mathias. With Francis it was only short sentences and even shorter replies. Very boring. With Mathias it was different. He wanted to find out all about me. My likes and dislikes. My deepest secrets and biggest fears. Then of course he flirted a lot which I had tried to avoid. It would be too complicated to begin a relationship at the moment and I wasn't so sure I wanted to begin a relationship with Mathias in the first place. He was good looking and fun to talk to, and yes, the kisses we had shared was nice but something was missing. I knew nothing about him. He wanted to everything about me but didn't seem too eager to share any secrets of his own.

"Good day my lady," a voice said. Speaking of the devil. I turned around and came eye to eye with Mathias who was smirking at me.  
"Salut Mathias," I greeted.  
"Beautiful day isn't it?" he said. It was. It was the start of July and the sun was shining.  
"Oui," I replied.  
"But I think your beauty stands out here amongst the flowers," he said. I rolled my eyes. He was in his flirty mood. He quite enjoyed the fact that we all wore clothes which was at least two hundred years old. Sometimes I played along with his games if I was in the mood.  
"Monsieur I think it's highly offensive towards the poor person who has put a lot of effort in this garden whilst I haven't put much in my looks," I said.  
"You're a natural beauty," he said and I couldn't help but blush at his words.  
"Will you let me escort you to the dining hall?" he asked and reached out his arm.  
"Oui," I replied and grabbed his arm. We were quite the pair. It was no secret that Mathias was attractive but I couldn't help but feel that I needed to be something more than just a nice outside. I wanted to find out what was beneath the pretty façade and so far he hadn't seemed to want to show me.

Sweden, Norway, Iceland and Lithuania had prepared the meal for the day. It was things that could be found in the area. Meat from deer or boar, potatoes, carrots, milk, butter and occasionally cheese depending if someone had the energy to walk to the farm an hour walk away. Today it seemed that not only had they walked to the farm, even further than that. A long table was placed in the room. Usually, it would be four smaller ones. The room was darkened with curtains over the windows and candles lit up the room. Everything looked so fancy and I wondered if there was a celebration that I wasn't aware of. There was as many as three plates, two glasses, two spoons, three forks and knives. Mathias pulled out a chair for me. I thought that he would sit beside me but he walked over and sat on the chair on the other side of the table.  
"One should never sit beside his lady," he explained. I ignored the fact that he had called me his. That was a conversation for another day. Shortly others joined us. I had the pleasure to sit beside Iceland who still seemed to dislike me. I could see Francis enter the room and sit down beside Estonia and Latvia. Netherlands was the last one in and unfortunately, I was the one that would sit beside him. Mathias looked even a bit sorry for placing me here.

The starter was a sort of mixture of shrimp and crème fraiche on toast. It was quite good, not as good as the French food but still. They tried at least. Both Netherlands and Iceland sat quietly when they ate and they were that kind of people you just knew you couldn't just start a conversation with and it wouldn't be awkward.  
We had reached the main course before anyone said anything to me and then it was just Iceland who asked me to pass the water, which I did but it wasn't much of a conversation starter. For the main course, we got some sort of meat mix and it wasn't that good so I was just moving it around my plate making it look like I had eaten more than what I actually did.  
"Don't you like it?" Netherlands asked all of a sudden. I looked at him, surprised that he found me interesting enough to waste his precious time.  
"Non, not the best I have tasted," I admitted a bit ashamed. They had put a lot of work in it and now I was more or less showing them how horrible it was.  
"Sweden isn't known for his cooking," Netherlands said as if he wanted me to feel less bad. The whole thing seemed strange since I didn't think he cared about anyone else but himself.  
"I suppose," I said.  
"Do you have any plans for the evening?" he asked curiously.  
"Maybe," I replied. Not really but if this would end where I was suspecting it would I had to be cautious because the last thing I wanted was to spend more time in Netherlands company than necessary.  
"Would you be able to cancel those plans?" he asked.  
"Depends," I replied.  
"Depends on what?"  
"What is it you want with me that you expect me to cancel my plans?" He leaned closer and I could feel his breath against my neck. I felt very uncomfortable having him so close. He was an intimidating man and I felt no pleasure having him so close.  
"There is a very important matter we have to discuss," he whispered in my ear. Then he leaned back in his chair and said nothing during the rest of the meal. In the corner of the eye, I could see Mathias looking at us. I hoped that he hadn't taken it the wrong way, not that I had to excuse myself since there was nothing between me and him. Something inside me told me that I shouldn't get into the middle of whatever Netherlands was planning but I was also very curious to find out what he and Belgium were discussing. Maybe he would ask me to take the role as leader when they left.

After the dinner, he stood and talked with Sweden and Norway. I hesitated a bit before I walked up to him.  
"Bonsoir," I greeted and the three bowed their heads.  
"Monsieur, it seemed that I am free tonight," I told him.  
"Come with me," He said and reached out his arm. It was a bit weird and a lot of eyes were on us as we exited the room. He took me to his chamber. Which was a lot bigger than my own. It was divided into two parts. One part was the bed, wardrobe and mirror. The other part was more of an office with shelves and a desk. There was a red satin sofa and he led me to it. He sat down on the chair by the desk. It felt more and more like a formal meeting and it was such a relief and I could relax a bit. He began to write something down on a paper and I wondered if it was to punish me for something that he chose to take extra time to reveal why I was there.  
"Are you enjoying your stay here?" he asked. The question surprised me. I hadn't expected it to be so….. So normal. He had always seemed to be the kind of person who wanted to get down to business and not prolong things unless necessary.  
"It's a lovely castle and everyone has been so nice to me," I replied.  
"But?"  
"For each day that goes by it feels more like a prison," I admitted. He could see through me a lot easier than what I was comfortable with.  
"Do I have to remind you that you chose to go with us?"  
"Non."  
He stood up and walked over to one of the shelves. He took out a book and went back to his seat.  
"I would also want to leave this place," he said keeping his eyes on the pages as if he was looking for a certain sentence, maybe even word.  
"But unfortunately it won't be possible as long as someone is out to destroy us," he said.  
"Don't you think we should fight back?" I asked. He looked up and I could see a hint of amusement in his eyes.  
"Do you think we could win?" he asked me. Usually, a comment like that would make me very annoyed but tonight I didn't say anything that could anger him. Suddenly he put down the book on the desk in such force that it looked like the desk's legs was close to breaking. I looked at him in shock. He held a finger to something and waved at me to come over. A bit uncertain whether I should trust him or not I stood up. He was leaning over the book like it was very precious to him. My curiosity beat my fear for Netherlands so I walked over. I was just about to see what it was that was so interesting when someone opened the door. I took a large step away from him. Like we had done something forbidden and I wanted nothing more than to sink through the floor. Belgium looked shaken.  
"What is it zuster?" he asked and walked over to her. I felt a bit disappointed that I couldn't see what it was in that book but decided to not push it. Instead, I paid attention to what Belgium was saying.  
"He's so cold," she said.  
"Who is?" Netherlands asked.  
"He laid outside the door," she said like she hadn't heard what her brother just asked.  
"He's here," she added.  
"Alsjeblieft tell me," Netherlands demanded.  
"Russia," Belgium breathed. For the others, the idea of having to live with Russia wasn't a happy occasion. I still didn't know him that well and the few memories I had of him was a man that was kind but most of all I was happy to hear that another was alive. He had made it here.  
"How did he know we were here?" Netherlands asked himself. He asked Belgium to take him to Russia. I followed them. Everyone had gathered in the great hall. Russia was laying on the floor and I got irritated that everyone seemed it more important to find out what he was doing there rather than the fact that we were cold and almost unconscious.

Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania looked like they were going to faint in any minute. The mere presence of Russia seemed to give them weak knees. I felt bad for them and I wanted to find out what he had done to make them so scared of him. However, that was a question for another day. Mathias walked up to me when I entered the room.  
"Nice chat with Netherlands?" he whispered. It was no way denying the fact that he was jealous. I would not tell him that there was nothing going on between me and Netherlands. That was something he had to figure all on his own. I didn't answer and just walked over to the others.  
Russia had always to me seemed to be kind but still, someone that could frighten someone if he wished to. But now he was laying on the ground. Small and desperate. Since no one was capable of being nice I walked over and reached out my hand. People looked at me like what I just had done was a complete outrage. I glared at them as I led Russia out of the room, away from prying eyes. Walking around doing nothing had made me quite an expert of the castle. All the corridors and all the rooms. I decided to give Russia a room close to my own if he would need anything. The room was a lot smaller than my own. There were only a small bed, a wardrobe and a table with a chair. Luckily he wasn't completely unconscious so I didn't have to carry him to the bed. Not that I would be able to do that. He was a lot taller than me and most likely double my weight. He looked at me with tired eyes and I could see a hint of a smile on his lips before he fell asleep. I decided to let him rest and come back in the morning.  
For the first time since I got here, I felt like a change was coming. One for the better, I hoped.


	32. Part 2, Chapter 7: Magda

**Chapter 7: Magda**

Hate is a dangerous thing. Especially in the time of war. For every day that passed being a country became more dangerous. A fight between us would be the end of us. I could understand why Tino decided to not speak to me. He was obviously heartbroken by my rejection. But something inside me wanted to tell him to get over it. He was the one that kissed me, not the other way around. I have a boyfriend and the timing was terrible. Things were so uncertain and I had much more important things to think about. Such as Canada's wound. At first, he didn't tell me that it hurt. I had thought that the worst was over but one day he just fell to the ground. His wound had got infected. We found shelter in an abandoned cabin. It wasn't ideal but it would do. He was laying on the old squeaky bed and was groaning in pain. There was nothing I could do to ease his pain and I feared for his life. If his temperature didn't go down we would be forced to seek up a hospital. All we could do was to wait and with the silent war Tino had against me made it nearly unbearable. Not wanting to leave Canada's side I took up the book to make the time go. Before I hadn't really paid that much attention to what the book really was about except the sentence that I found. It turned out to be an adventure book, filled with magic and mythical creatures. It was really good and I had already read half of it. In the corner of my eye, I could see Tino leaving but I didn't care to ask him where he was going. It was his business and I would make it obvious that what he did was out of line and he couldn't hate me forever for something that I couldn't control.

 _Love is by far the most painful thing on this planet.  
Yet it is also the sweetest.  
All you want is to love and to be loved in return.  
But the truth is that you can't choose who you love.  
Your head tells you to be reasonable but nothing can control the heart.  
It's a free spirit and all it knows are feelings.  
The excitement of newfound love and the devastation of heartbreak.  
Is the pain worth it?_

I wondered if it was like that for Tino. He hadn't chosen to fall for me but that didn't excuse his behaviour. There were so many things wrong with his revelation. It was the wrong time, place and person.  
"Mag…..." Canada mumbled. My thoughts returned to the present. Canada was paler than before and sweat ran down his face and soaked his hair and the sheets under him. It was a frightening thing to behold and I felt so helpless.  
"Mag…." He said once again and I realised that he was trying to say my name. I leaned closer to him.  
"What is it Canada?" I asked and took his hand.  
"W…." he began but his voice failed him.  
"Do you need something?" I asked trying to make it easier for him.  
"W…ater…" he mumbled. I nodded and went to get the water bottle I had in my bag. Unfortunately, it was empty and there was no way to fill it up in here. I would have to leave the barn to find water but a part of me was reluctant to leave Canada in his state. But as he kept groaning in pain and the choice was to leave him for a few minutes to get water or let him die of dehydration. The answer was obvious.

It was the middle of summer but the night air felt cold against my bare arms and I wanted to return to the cabin as fast as possible. There was a well beside the cabin that had seen better days but was still functional. The chain that held the bucket was old and I had to use all my strength to get the metal bucket up to where I stood. Behind me, I could hear steps and out of habit I turned around and was prepared to defend myself if needed. I sighed out in relief when I saw that it was only Tino. He looked at me with the same cold look that always found the way to his face when I was nearby. It hurt inside of me to think that I was the cause of it. I didn't want us to fight but I couldn't lie to him and pretend that my feelings for him were more than friendly.  
"Do you need help?" he asked and pointed at the bucket. I shook my head and he just nodded. He didn't walk back to the cabin he just kept staring at me as I was filling the water bottle and it made me very uncomfortable, to say the least. I wasn't sure if he expected me to say anything or if he was looking for the right words to say. We could tell each other everything before but now things had changed between us. When I had filled the bottle and began to walk back to the cabin he followed me. At that moment he reminded me of a stalker but I knew that he would never hurt me. Then all I could think about was Canada. That was what was important at the moment. Make sure that Canada gets better so that we could continue our journey to something we hadn't really figured out where it would end. The cabin door squealed unpleasantly when I opened it. Something had changed in the room. It was somehow darker and quiet than before. My gaze turned to the bed where Canada was laying, only to find it empty. The room began to fill with the sound of my heartbeat and I looked around the room to see if he had tried to leave the bed and falling to the floor. But he wasn't there. He was gone. Before Tino had even entered the cabin completely I went over to take up my bag and jacket. He couldn't have gotten far if he was by himself and if he had in fact been kidnapped they wouldn't have come far with a wounded person. Since I didn't hear the sound of an engine when I was outside, I could only assume that they had gone by foot.  
"Where are you going?" Tino asked.  
"What do you think? To find Canada" I replied.  
"It's too dangerous," he said and grabbed my arm to stop me from leaving the cabin.  
"Don't touch me," I hissed and tried to pull my arm out of his grasp but failing miserably. He was a lot stronger than I expected.  
"Be smart about it," he pleaded. His face softened a bit but didn't let go of my arm.  
"He will die if we don't try to find him," I said. He knew it was the truth and that made me even angrier at him. He would let a man die just because he thinks I'm safer here than out in the woods. Someone was out for all of us and finding Canada also meant that I would find the person responsible for all of this. With all my strength I pushed him away and he lost his balance for a few seconds that allowed me to free myself from him.

I ran out the door and didn't look back but I could hear Tino behind me. I had just reached the woods when the world was set aflame and a force threw my body through the air and then the world turned black.


	33. Part 2, Chapter 8: Éloïse

**Chapter 8: Éloïse**

He was sitting in front of me and I knew that I had to address the matter sooner or later. It was the reason I had sought him out in the first place and delaying things wouldn't do any good to anyone.  
"Frere, you know why I'm here," I said. He was sitting in his bed where I found him more often than not. It had gone so far that he ate all his meals in his bedroom and the few times he did leave his room it was only to pick some flowers from the garden since he wouldn't let anyone else do it for him. It had been like this for two weeks and I have had enough of his attitude. He was supposed to be one of the most influential countries in the world and now he was hiding in his room. Hiding from the problems we all soon enough had to face.  
"Lois, must we talk about it now?" he asked tiredly. I can't imagine why he would be tired since all he did was resting. His skin had almost lost all its colour and he was now in a greyish shade and his hair lay lifeless on his head. The old Francis would never let his appearance get so bad.  
"Oui, we must," I told him. He sighed and stared out of the window and his eyes became distant as if he was in an entirely different place and I suspected he was.  
"I am worried about you," I started. "You have been in your room for days."  
"I haven't felt like going out," he said weakly and kept his eyes set on the window.  
"That's what worries me. I know that you're sad over everything that has happened," I said and put a hand on his arm. He didn't react and I could no longer see the brother I used to be so close to. The man in front of me was just a shell of someone that used to be a passionate and loving human being.  
"I have lost everything," he said and I could see his eyes watering.  
"Non, you haven't frère. You got me," I said. Then he turned to look at me and his eyes were filled with so much sadness that tears began to cloud my vision. I felt sad for him and I knew how he felt. Magda's face kept haunting me day and night and I couldn't shake the feeling that I should have done more to make Netherlands wait for a few days.  
"Let's go out," I said. He sighed but nodded. I helped him put on his jacket and we walked out to the garden together.  
It was a nice and warm summer day. The birds were singing and there was no cloud to be seen in the sky. Yet the lovely day couldn't seem to raise my brother's mood the slightest. But I would do my best.  
"Isn't the flowers just lovely?" I asked him, to which he just shrugged his shoulders and didn't even seem to look at them properly.  
"What do you think they will give us to eat tonight?" I asked him. Once again he just shrugged his shoulders. I tried with everything I thought would crack him but nothing did. If something, it only made him sadder.

As we walked around the garden in the sunlight it felt like the old times. When I used to live with him and we would spend all the days outside in his garden. This garden wasn't even close to the beauty of my brother's but it was pretty and with him, by my side, it felt even more special. I was so occupied letting the sun warm my face that I hadn't noticed Francis stopping abruptly. Only when I heard something hit the ground did I turn around. To my horror, I saw the unconscious body of my brother laying by my feet. I looked around the garden for someone other than myself but it was empty.  
"Aider!" I yelled with all my might that I had and realised that I had spoken in French. I kept yelling until I could spot a figure leaving the castle and running towards me. It was Russia who was looking with great concern. His eyes turned to my brother and without questions, he lifted him up. It would have been impossible for me to carry Francis all by myself but Russia seemed to be able to lift him up with such ease that it looked like he didn't weigh anything.  
When we came into the castle more people seemed to have gathered to see what was happening. My eyes sought out Estonia as he was the brightest one of us and had a medical training. He seemed a bit surprised when I grabbed his arm. He and the other Baltics were still tense around Russia but I knew that Estonia wouldn't let that stand in the way of helping someone.

Russia carried Francis to his room and laid him on the bed. Estonia was quick to begin to examine him.  
"Go and get some water," Russia said but I could see in his eyes that he didn't want me to be here if it would come to the worst. I didn't want to leave my brother's side but I was close to losing it completely and Estonia was stressed enough without my sobbing.  
"Éloïse," Mathias said when I left the room. The other Nordics had also found their way outside my brother's door and were waiting nervously for the outcome. Without thinking it through I just ran towards Mathias and his arms was a welcoming distraction. I felt safe and calm in his embrace and I was grateful for his support and friendship right now. I had made it clear to him that I wanted nothing but friendship from him and he had been surprisingly cool about it.  
"What happened?" Netherlands asked me after I had let go of Mathias and I had calmed down after the first shock. I explained to him the happenings in the garden and listened carefully and I could see the wheels turning in his head. I hadn't talked that much with him since the night of the dinner but I had learnt that he was a thinker. His brain calculated everything around him and always tried to foresee the outcome of things. He looked at the world in a logical way and always saw the true nature of things. In the beginning, it had been both annoying and frightening the way he seemed to lack emotions but it was in situations like this someone like him was needed to keep things in order. Then we all just waited. I was touched that they seemed to care about him that much. After an hour or so Russia and Estonia left the room. Everyone was prepared to ask them questions but Estonia only raised his hand signalling for everyone to be quiet and looked at me.  
"He wants to see you," he said and I walked in. I had hoped that Estonia would have told me something about his condition so I would have been more prepared for what would come.

Francis laid in bed just like I had seen him so many times before. But this time he looked different. More pale and weak than I had ever seen him. He looked at me and smiled weakly. In a matter of seconds, I was by his side.  
"Tell me what's wrong," I said. He reached out his arm and cupped my cheek.  
"Ma belle sœur, he said. "I shouldn't have kept you in the dark for so long."  
"You're scaring me," I said. He smiled at me again.  
"Je suis déolé pour tout."  
"I forgive you but you have to tell me what is wrong," I pleaded.  
"Je meurs," he whispered softly. It could easily have been heard wrong but I don't know what he would have said if he hadn't just told me he was dying. Tears clouded my vision and I felt them fall down my cheeks.  
"Ne pleure pas," he whispered and wiped my tears with his hand.  
"How long have you known?" I asked. He looked up at the ceiling.  
"A few months," he replied. Then I pulled away and took a step back. I couldn't believe that he hadn't told me. Would he have told me if he hadn't fainted? Would the truth only had come up to the surface when I one day found him dead?  
"Lois, don't be like that," he said. It was too much. I couldn't take it. Something inside me hurt and I needed to get so far away from him as possible. I ignored his pleas for me to stay and I didn't care about everyone's questions. I just needed to get out of there and as soon as possible.

First I just ran out in the garden but then something took control of my body. My feet moved of their own accord and I got further and further away from the castle. I fell down on the ground when I had gotten so far away that I could no longer see the building and trees were towering up around me in an almost frightening manner. Only then did I realise that I shouldn't be out here alone. The woods harboured dark things lurking in the shadows. It had been so foolish to run like that but I had just found out that my brother was dying and I couldn't look at him knowing that he soon would be gone. Something was moving in a bush close by and the sadness I had felt only seconds ago vanished and was replaced with fear. I was utterly helpless out here. The only thing I had to protect myself with was with a stick but I doubted it would help against a wolf or a bear. But it could at least buy me some time to let me climb a tree so I grabbed a stick and prepared for the worst. But nothing came. No attack and no pain. Instead, something soft and furry touched my hand. I looked down and came eye to eye with a creature I knew to be a lynx. It was small and I suspected it was just a cub. I looked around and expected the mother to jump out somewhere but minutes passed and it was still just me and the cub. It looked at me with its big eyes and I could see the same sadness I felt reflected in the creature's eyes. It must have lost its mother and probably siblings too.  
I couldn't leave it so I picked it up. I was rather surprised that it would let me since it was a wild animal.  
"You don't happen to know the way back to the castle, ma petite friend?" I asked the creature even if I didn't really expect an answer. It was staring at me with curious eyes and I wondered if it could understand me but just didn't have the ability to answer.  
"Are you here all alone?" I asked it. It blinked and I took that as I yes.  
"I will call you Fleur:"

With that, I began to walk back the way I thought the castle was. Fleur was very calm and I couldn't quite understand that it was a lynx I was holding in my arms. A wild animal. It shouldn't be that calm. It had already turned dark when I came back to the castle. Mathias was the first one to greet me at the door.  
"Where have you been? We have been so worried," he said and sounded angry. I just walked passed him, ignoring his question. Estonia was the next one to meet me.  
"We have to discuss your brother's condition," he said.  
"Later," I said and kept walking towards my room. I had been walking for hours and I just wanted to take a bath and go to bed. When I reached my room I saw Russia waiting outside. He looked relieved when he saw me. His eyes turned to Fleur who was now sleeping in my arms.  
"Who is this?" he asked.  
"This is Fleur," I said. He smiled at the creature.  
"Such a cute little thing," he said.  
"Oui she is, but you'll have to excuse me but I'm going to bed and I wish to not be disturbed," I said and opened the door.  
"Of course not. I just wanted to make sure you were alright," he said.  
"Merci monsieur for your concern but I am perfectly fine to take care of myself," I said and closed the door after me. I put down Fleur carefully on a pillow beside my bed and when I laid myself on the bed I let the tears fall for a second time that day. My brother was dying. He would soon be gone from this earth and I would never see him again. He was the reason I went here in the first place. The one thing that made me feel less guilty for leaving Magda and when he was gone all I would have left was my grief and regrets. Sleep never came to me that night.


	34. Part 2, Chapter 9: Magda

**Chapter 9: Magda**

When I lived with Ludwig I used to climb trees. I loved climbing trees and I was an excellent climber. Knew exactly where to put my feet and it was with such elegance I moved between the branches. Gilbert would join me sometimes but he was a lot bigger than I and had more than once nearly fallen down. Ludwig never climbed trees and he would often lecture me about the dangers of being up there. I, of course, didn't listen to him. I was young and reckless and didn't think of the consequences. So naturally one day I fell down from the tree. It could have been avoided if I only had been paying more attention to the branches. Then I would have noticed that one wasn't stable enough for me to climb upon. All I could remember that day was the funny feeling after I hit my head. I wasn't completely unconscious but I still couldn't talk or move my body. I couldn't feel any pain and it was like a fog in my head making everything fussy. Ludwig and Gilbert panicked and got me to the hospital as fast as possible. I could still remember what people were saying around me, the worry my brothers held for me. It was just like that right now. After the bomb exploded, I was quite certain it was a bomb, I could feel my body being lifted away. By whom I didn't know but I didn't feel any fear, even if I probably should have been terrified. I wasn't sure how many hours passed before I regained the control of my own body. The first thing I noticed that I was laying on something soft. A lot softer than what I had gotten used to during my time on the run. Then I also felt a pain in my right leg.  
"Magda?" I voice asked. It was no one I could put with a face and it was neither Canada nor Tino. Hushed whispers sounded around me and I got myself to open my eyes. I was laying safely tucked in a bed. The room had green wallpaper with thin yellow stripes and the rest of the furniture was coloured in the same hideous way. But it was not the furnishing that caught my eye it was the people sitting around my bed. It reminded me of the scene where Snow White wakes up in the dwarfs' cottage. Of the three people staring at me, it was only one I could put a name to. Sealand. Next to him sat a girl that looked like she was close to him in age. She had brown hair which she had put up in a ponytail and she had put a red flower in it. Next to her sat a boy with ginger hair and kind eyes.  
"How are you?" Sealand asked. I thought for a second. My leg hurt but it wasn't that bad and I did have a lot of questions that I needed to be answered but other than that I felt fine.  
"Where's Tino?" I asked. The three looked at each other as if asking who I was talking to.  
"Finland," I clarified.  
"He is here and asking for you," the girl said.  
"What happened?" I asked.  
"There was a bomb," the ginger boy replied. That was the only thing I was certain of but I wanted to know the details behind it. It couldn't be a coincidence that they decided to blow up a cabin in the middle of nowhere.  
"Thank you for that sharp observation," someone said and walked into the room. He was older than the others but not much older. The way he walked indicated that he thought himself to be a very important person but I had never seen him in my entire life.

The others in the room didn't seem to like him that much as I saw all their faces tense and the girl seemed to be offended by the intrusion.  
"We will, of course, give you the information needed but I believe that you need to rest and catch your breath before we do so," he said but it was more like an order for them to not say anything. It was very suspicious.  
"I want to see Tino," I demanded. He was the only one I would be able to trust.  
"We will arrange a meeting," he said and pointed towards the door while looking at the others. They seemed to have a secret sign language and they all stood up and was ready to leave.  
"Take care," Sealand said before they all left. I was now all alone to process everything. Canada had disappeared only minutes before the bomb went off and although there was a tiny chance that he could be the one responsible I highly doubted it. But someone must have snuck into the cabin while I was getting water since it wasn't a bomb dropped from an aeroplane. We would have heard that miles away. Whoever did it was smart and quick but they had failed their mission and they would try again.

A few hours later Tino entered my room. He seemed to be in a much better shape than I and I was happy because of it. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if anything happened to him. He smiled at me and sat down beside the bed. I didn't like the way he looked at me. With such pity like I might as well have been lying on my deathbed.  
"It brings me so much joy to see that you're well," he said.  
"How long was I out?" I asked.  
"Around three days," he replied. Three days? Had I been out for three days?  
"Then we have a lot to talk about," I said and smiled at him.  
"Ladonia wanted you to get dressed and then come and join us," he said. The name seemed familiar and I was certain that I had heard the name before somewhere but I couldn't remember where exactly.  
"Who?" I asked.  
"Ladonia, he's a micronation," Tino explained. I looked at him as if he was stupid. That much I was aware of too but I wanted further information.  
"Get dressed," he said and stood up. "I'll be waiting outside." With that, he left the room and I didn't even have time to ask what clothes I was supposed to wear. Then I noticed that someone had put a pile of clothes on a chair on the other side of the room. My leg hurt when I stood up and it was in great pain I walked over. The clothes someone had picked out for me was a white shirt, a brown leather jacket, a pair of jeans and dark brown leather boots which looked like they have been used many times before. Not that I had any choice. I had no idea where my old clothes were and I suspected that they had been damaged in the explosion so it was no use to ask anyone. It took some time before I was properly dressed because my leg hurt a lot.

As promised Tino stood and waited for me. He offered to let me lean on him but I kindly reclined him. I had to show that I wasn't weak. I realised that we were residing in an ordinary house. It was probably just two stores large and not that particularly wide. I let Tino carry me down the stairs but I told him to put me down before anyone saw us. We walked into the small kitchen where ten people or so was seated around the table. Sealand and the girl and boy from yesterday were there. As was the boy with the red hair and he had the same domestic demeanour around him as yesterday. There were three other strangers that must have been micronations as well. Then to my surprise, Canada was one of the people there and he looked a lot better than the last time I saw him. Belarus and Poland were also there. There were no free chairs so I walked over to lean against the wall since no one seemed too eager to give up their seat to let me rest my leg. The redhead stood up but not to offer me his chair but to show everyone that he was the one that would lead this conversation.  
"Welcome Breuchen, my name is Ladonia," he said. I didn't know what to say but he was quick to continue.  
"I think you already have met Belarus, Poland and Canada," he said and I nodded. Then he introduced the others. Sealand I already knew. The girl's name was Wy, sister to Australia and New Zealand, Seborga, the ginger boy, who was the brother of Italy and Romano. Then there was Kugelmugel who was the brother of Austria, he had long white hair which he had braided. Then there was Molossia who was the brother of America and seemed as bossy as Ladonia. Lastly, I was introduced to Hutt River who was another brother to Wy. Truth to be told no one seemed very friendly except Sealand.  
"So do you have any questions?" Ladonia asked. I had so many that I didn't know where to begin.  
"How did you find us?" I asked. It was a good start and something that had been in the back of my mind.  
"Another question," he said. The others looked at him and I hoped that someone dared to stand up and answer it for him but everyone remained quiet.  
"Why won't you answer my question?" I asked and crossed my arms. The entire thing grew more and more suspicious by the minute. Ladonia sighed loudly.  
"Another day," he explained. I raised my eyebrows. He was hiding something. But it seemed like I wouldn't get that question answered today.  
"How can Canada be here when he disappeared only minutes before the explosion?" I asked and this time I looked at Canada.  
"We found him about hundred metres from the cabin" Ladonia explained. "The kidnapper realised that he or she wouldn't have time to get away with it so they must have left him there."  
"Where am I now?" I asked.  
"In a house on secret location," he answered. "You're safe." I highly doubted that and I didn't trust Ladonia the slightest.  
"What are you planning to do?" I asked.  
"In time we will share our plan with you but you need to heal properly before you're ready to join our mission," he said.  
"What mission?"  
"Miss Breuchen, we're going to save the world."


	35. Part 2, Chapter 10: Éloïse

**Chapter 10: Éloïse**

The worst feeling in the world is helplessness. When you can't do anything to stop something from happening. You can only watch as it happens. It was what I felt when I found out that my brother was dying. There is nothing I can do to make him better. Ever since I found out he had gotten much worse. He had become much paler and he never left his bed. He didn't have the energy to do so. I spent as much time as I could with him but sometimes I had to leave when I couldn't take it anymore. But it didn't matter where I went the picture of my brother's face haunted me. Especially in the garden. The flowers seemed to lose their colour and a cold breeze always found its way to make me feel silly. The world seemed like a dark place even if there was no cloud in the sky. Mathias had tried to make me feel better but I wished that he would stop talking to me like he was already dead. That was the problem. Everyone seemed to think that he was already dead and every time I saw them they were more or less giving their condolences. I'm not naïve though, there is not even a tiny part inside of me that believes that there is a way that could make him better. I had come to terms that he would die.

I was currently sitting on the stone stairs towards the gardens. Francis had fallen asleep and there was nothing I could do to him other than perhaps making him very uncomfortable by staring at him while he was sleeping. I didn't know what to do or where to go. Now when Francis would die the only reason I went here will be gone and I will be stuck here with nothing to do. It was times like these I missed my piano. Before I could always rely on it when I needed the time to go or process something. Everything seemed so much simpler when my fingers touched the keys. But I hadn't played for months and I missed it terribly. One would think a castle would have at least one instrument in one of these many rooms. I would have to be satisfied with my own voice but I had never been so keen on singing. It was not that I was a bad singer or anything it was just that the few times I did sing was for myself and always while I was playing. My brother liked my voice and would always insist that I would sing to him from to time. He was the only one I would sing to.  
But it was tempting to break out in a song right then. To let the music bring out my feelings. Since I was outside anyone could hear me so I decided to not sing right now. I could hear steps coming closer. Someone sat down beside me but I thought it was just Mathias who wanted to cheer me up.  
"How are you?" Someone who was not Mathias said. It was Russia. I was surprised, to say the least. We had shared a few words with each other but it was only brief courtesies and never had he been so close to me as he was now. He looked at me with the same pity everyone else did and I prepared for another speech that it wasn't my fault my brother was dying.  
"What a lovely day, isn't it?" he asked and looked up at the sky. The question took me by surprise and at first I thought that I had misheard him.  
"I... su...ppose," I stuttered. He smiled but kept staring up at the sky like it was the most fascinating thing in the world.  
"Sweden is very kind to let us stay here," he said.  
"Oui," I replied and was taken aback how strange this conversation seemed even if we spoke of something so casual.  
"What do you think we will get for dinner?" he asked.  
"I don't know," I answered. I didn't really get what he was doing but when another pair of feet joined us I realised what he was trying to do.  
"Your brother needs you," Netherlands said. I realised that for the first time since I had found out that my brother was dying I hadn't thought about it. I bid Russia farewell and followed Netherlands who was as keen to have a conversation as always. He didn't say anything when we reached Francis's room and since I knew that he wouldn't say anything I didn't bother to say anything to him either and just left him alone in the hallway.

Francis was laying in the bed which wasn't much of a surprise but he looked even worse than when I left him and I felt a lump in my stomach. I knew why he had asked for me. He hadn't much time left and he didn't want to be alone. And I wouldn't leave his side until he drew his last breath. My hand sought his but he was too weak to even grab mine properly. He looked at me with tired eyes and a sad smile. He opened his mouth to say something but he closed it again.  
"You don't have to say anything," I told him. We had already gone through the whole I love you ordeal a few days ago and words weren't necessary between us anymore.  
"You have to take care of France for me," he whispered.  
"France? You're France," I told him. He shook his head.  
"Not for long," he pointed out. "I want you to make sure that my land isn't taken from the family."  
"I promise," I said although I wasn't sure I could hold it.  
"Can you sing for me?" he asked and I nodded. So I began. It was at first just a quiet tune, almost like a whisper but I grew louder for every word until I felt confident and then I lost myself in the music.

 _I'm watching you breathing for the last time.  
A song for your heart, but when it is quiet,  
I know what it means and I'll carry you home.  
I'll carry you home. _

When I reached the end tears had run down my cheeks. It was such an emotional song and I meant every word of it. I sat down by the bed but never let go of his hand. I knew he didn't have long and I would hate if he felt that he had to go through it alone.  
"You know that I love you, right?" he said.  
"Of course, frère. Je t'aime," I told him and I could feel him squeeze my hand. Then his hold softened and with one last breath, all life in his eyes disappeared. I sat there for a few minutes with tears running down my face. Then the door opened and someone stepped inside. The person put a hand on my shoulder and I just lost it. The pain was too much to take. I just stood up and hugged the person. The person didn't hug me back but I didn't care I just needed to hold onto someone who was still alive to assure myself that this was the reality. When I had calmed down a bit I took a step back and felt a bit ashamed of my actions. Especially when I saw that it was Netherlands who I had been hugging. He walked over to Francis and closed his eyelids and whispered something to himself.  
"You should go and rest," he said softly. I nodded and left him to take care of the body. I had done what I could and now I just wanted to go to my bed and let sleep take me away to a place where this wasn't true. Where Francis still lived and I had never left his house in the first place. If I only had known earlier.

When I got to my room I saw Fleur laying on my bed. She came and went as she pleased but she seemed to have an ability to know when I needed her. This was one of those times. I laid down on the bed and she crawled closer to me and looked at me in a way like to say that everything would be alright. With her close to me I soon fell asleep and I dreamt about Francis that night. Alive and as he used to be.


	36. Part 2, Chapter 11: Magda

**Chapter 11: Magda**

It was raining. Which wouldn't be much of a surprise if it hadn't been the first time in weeks. The summer had been sunny and we have been lucky weather wise but now it was raining and told us that summer was coming to an end. It was still just the end of July but it was something in the air that told me that summer wouldn't stay for much longer. So much had happened in just a few months and we still had a long way to go. Staying with the micronations had been okay. Except for Sealand no one was really friendly and Belarus was quite intimidating and Poland was strange. Tino still seemed a bit upset after my rejection. Ladonia had still not told me much and it began to annoy me. I couldn't help to always look around every room I entered just to make sure nothing suspicious was happening.  
Ladonia had forced all the others to go out and train. I and Canada were still not well enough to train but I longed for the day when I could begin to practice archery and fencing. It seemed odd that we would practice that since our enemies used bombs and were most likely using more modern weapons than swords and bow and arrows. We had sat down in the kitchen and drank tea. I wasn't very fond of tea but it was nice with today's weather. I and Canada had never really talked much. Only orders and a good night now and then. But never really talked. I knew nothing about him except that he was America's brother.  
"Although I feel sort of bad that I'm not doing anything I wouldn't want to be out there," I said and looked at the people who were out in the rain trying not to slip in the mud. Ladonia and Malossia were the ones who seemed to know what they were doing. Sealand was the one who was the worst. Every time Wy hit his sword he stumbled and more than once I thought he would fall. But he didn't so there was still hope for him.  
"It's not your fault that you hurt your leg in that explosion," he said with the same low voice as usual.  
"Nein, but do you know who I think has something to do with it?" I asked and leaned closer. I knew that the house was empty but I still felt that there was someone watching me. He looked at me and waited for me to tell him.  
"I think that the people in this house aren't what they say they are," I whispered. I expected him to say something that I was being paranoid or that I threw out accusations with no ground. But he didn't. He just leaned back in his chair and got this thoughtful expression on his face.  
"I'm not sure about that but Ladonia is really an annoying person," he said and I couldn't help but smile. To me, Canada always seemed to be a kind man that never said something bad about anyone even if annoying wasn't exactly the worst one could say about a person.

We sat there for about a half an hour until the rest had had enough of the rain and went inside. Ladonia went straight upstairs to his room like usual while the others joined us in the kitchen. Sealand sat down next to me and began to talk excitedly about the progress he had made.  
"You should have seen me a month ago, I couldn't even lift a sword," he said. I didn't say anything or told him that he had been improving I just let him talk until he was finished. Then he turned to Canada and told him the same story even if I was quite certain that he had overheard him. Sealand was rather loud so probably everyone at the table had heard the story. But Canada just lets him tell the story all over again. He was too nice to tell him to shut up anyway.  
"Do you want to take a walk?" Sealand asked me all of a sudden. He had noticed that Canada wasn't too interested in his story and turned his attention towards me again. His face was lit up with a hope and I felt horrible that I had to crush it.  
"I'm sorry but I can't," I replied. "My leg," I added so he wouldn't think that I didn't want to go because of him. Ladonia entered the kitchen then and everyone got quiet. It was like they waited for him to tell them that it was okay for them to continue their conversations with him in the room. But such words never came and he walked over to the coffee machine. Everyone stared at him as if he had trespassed on grounds where he wasn't allowed. The tension in the air was thick and I wondered what he did to earn such respect from everyone else. All of a sudden I didn't feel like staying so I stood up. I thought Sealand would faint right then and there. Clearly what I had done was something really scandalous. I thought about Éloïse who would probably fight with Ladonia more than once about the leadership. The thought of my former friend sent a wave of sadness. It hadn't been that long since we parted ways but it still hurt. I tried my best to not think about neither Éloïse nor Antonio but we all had our moments of weakness. I walked out of the kitchen with my bad leg and decided to go and rest for a while. I almost expected Tino to come and help me up the stairs but he never came so I spent the next ten minutes getting up the stairs and without screaming out in pain while doing so. But once I reached the top something pulled me towards Ladonia's room. It was not very smart to lurk around somebody else's room and he would not think twice about throwing me out if he caught me. But I needed to know if I could find something that gave him away. I didn't trust him and if I found something suspicious in his room I would not think twice about telling Tino and Canada to get away from here.

His room was dark. Not only because the lamp wasn't lit. But the walls were black and he had the blinds down. When I put on the light I saw the queen-sized bed, black of course. There was only a desk in the room beside the bed and there were no personal belongings. It was strange. The desk was empty and there was nothing under the bed. It didn't even look like someone lived there.  
"What are you doing?" a voice said and I froze in hope that I would somehow turn invisible if I didn't move.  
"He won't be happy if he found out," the voice said. It was a girl's voice and besides me, there were only two possibilities. I turned around and thought all hope was lost when I came eye to eye with Belarus. It was not only that she was a really scary person. She also seemed to be that kind of person who liked to tell on people just to see them suffer.  
"Don't worry I won't tell him," she said and smiled. She actually smiled and it made me relax a bit in her presence. She took a step into the room and looked around with great interest.  
"One would think that a weirdo like him would have his room full of secrets plans and stuff," she said as she walked over to the desk and opened the top drawer.  
"How could you?" I asked.  
"I have been with them for the past two months. I don't trust any of them," she said. Then she walked over to the bed and sat down.  
"In times of war we all need an ally," she began. "And you seem to be the most reasonable."  
"I thought you and Poland were allies," I said. Actually, I had thought that she preferred to be alone if she didn't have her brother to talk to.  
"Please he's such a weirdo," she said and although I never said anything I did agree with her. He always talked about his pony and would burst out in tears when he came to the conclusion that he might never see it again.  
"So you want us to be allies?" I asked.  
"Da. If things get tough you will need a friend like me," she said. I thought about her offer for a second. It was tempting to say yes. She would scare away most people but how could I be sure that I could trust her?  
"Nein, I'm sorry but I don't trust you," I said. She smiled and stood up and headed towards the door. When she passed me she patted my head like I was a little girl or something even if I was taller than her.  
"You will change your mind eventually," and with that, she left. I stared at her for a few minutes before I realised that I should probably get out of there before Ladonia came back.

I was a bit disappointed when I laid down on my bed. I hadn't found out anything about Ladonia and Belarus acted oddly. I would have to keep my eye on her. Something in this house didn't feel right and I would find out what it was.


	37. Part 2, Chapter 12: Éloïse

**Chapter 12: Éloïse**

The third world war had brought death to our house, yet I had never mourned the fallen soldiers. I had not known the pain which seemed to hold the heart with no end. Never before had I known grief or the feeling of crying where the tears didn't seem to end. Once the tears finally did stop coming I just felt I giant hole inside of me and there was nowhere I could escape the grasp of darkness which now held my entire soul. Francis was dead and I would never see him again. But the worst thing is that I don't remember the strong and brave leader he used to be but the sick and weak man he would become. I didn't see him smiling proudly and his beautiful blonde locks whirl in the air as he walked in the sunny gardens of his home. I only saw a pale shadow of what he used to be, laying in his bed between life and death. It would have been much better if I hadn't seen him like that. If I instead had found out that he died in battle instead then I could have eased my mind with the knowledge that he had died a heroic death and not fallen as a victim of a disease.  
Everyone tried to be supportive but I was never in the mood to listen to them. To me, they were frauds who knew nothing of true loss and could never get the feeling of grief. They didn't have a knife stuck in their heart which opened wounds that I feared would never heal. Although I didn't want him to be buried here I knew that it would be impossible to go to France. Netherlands had insisted to have a funeral, which surprised me since I thought he didn't have a single bone in his body that knew feelings.

He and Belgium had done most of the planning and I didn't mind because I knew that nothing in this place could make him justice and I would only feel bad if I made a funeral unworthy of him. On the day of the funeral, I woke up and the world seemed to be even darker than the day before. It was the beginning of August and I knew that it was still too early for the sun to delay its rising but it still felt a lot darker than it usually was. But it would rather be the opposite since northern Sweden had midnight sun which made it seem like the days never ended. I knew I had to dress appropriately for the occasion but there was no black clothing in the closet which told me that the previous owner probably never went to a funeral in her entire life or maybe it wasn't the custom back then to dress in black at such occasions. I had to settle for a dark green dress which was far too fancy but I suppose Francis would have preferred it that way. He had always dressed in expensive fabric and the latest fashion trends and he enjoyed showing them off. I put up my hair in a simple bun and put a black scarf on my head. With that, I could hide my face and dry my tears without bringing too much attention to myself even if I knew that they would keep an eye on me. Funnily enough, they thought that I would try to run away now when Francis had died. It had crossed my mind but I would never make it out alive. The woods were filled with dangerous creatures and dark magic at least that's was what Norway had told me. Fleur had been out all night in the woods but I wasn't too worried about her. She did that a lot and I knew that she would come back in a day or two. But she always seemed to know when I needed her but right now I wouldn't show anyone how close I was to breaking completely. I didn't put on any makeup. It would be ruined by my tears anyway. I straighten my back and holds my head up high when I leave the room. I would give an air of complete control like no one could get to me.

The others had also dressed up for the occasion and looked at me with pity. I ignored their looks and just walked past them as if they didn't even exist. I was in my own world at the moment and the only thing that existed in that world was only my grief. Since it was still summer that had decorated the garden and I had to say that they had done a good job with the little resources available. No one had expected him to die. It was a secret he had kept to himself, and if he had told anyone the person was either not here or very good at keeping a secret. They had put the coffin in the middle of a circle of white flowers. I wondered where they had found it since I didn't think the castle had coffins laying around. There was someone walking up to me and standing beside me. I didn't care to look up who it was but the person put no effort to say something. We just stood there and stared at the black coloured wood until I almost forgot whose body was residing inside of it. The others had joined me and I knew that they waited for me to let one of them hold a speech about Francis and all the good things he did in life. I turned to the person who stood beside me and was surprised to see Russia. I turned to Netherlands who I saw hold a piece of paper. It was so typical of him to take the lead role, even in this. But I supposed that he must have known him too. He nodded and walked over to my other side. He always looked so determined in everything he did and people seemed to look up to him as a leader. Even when it was clear that I would have been the most appropriate candidate to hold a speech about my brother's life. Not that I knew what I would have said if I was given the chance.

There was a lot of good memories of him but it was personal and a something between me and him. I could never make it justice by telling them about it. They would never truly get the feeling. And I didn't feel like talking about the time when I left his house and definitely not the time after the explosion at the world meeting building.  
"Let's share a minute in silence to remember him with," Netherlands said. I hadn't heard a single word of his speech and felt sort of bad about it. He had clearly spent the time to write it and now I was too occupied with thoughts that I didn't even hear it. By the time I had forgiven myself for not listening the silent minute was over and people were going back to the castle again. I couldn't blame them that they didn't seem that sorry about the entire thing. He was more or less a stranger to them and I wouldn't have known what to do if someone that stood close to them died. I stayed for a while. Russia did too. I didn't mind and after a while, I forgot he even stood there.  
"Do you want to be alone?" he asked all of a sudden. It was strange that he asked me now when he had stood there for so long without me saying anything.  
"I don't mind you being here," I said.  
"I am really sorry for your loss," he said.  
"You and everyone else," I said. I could feel his eyes on me but I didn't face him. He could think what he wished of me but I didn't want the pity. Especially not with the looks as if they thought I would break in any second. I'm a lot stronger than I may look and I was prepared to show them that.  
"Will you be alright?" he asked. I sighed. This was the usual questions. How are you? Will you be alright? Do you need a friend? Etc.  
"Oui, it's not like I don't have any choice, do I?" I asked. He didn't answer and we returned to just being quiet. All of a sudden I felt like telling him about Francis. I knew that they had been allies in the third world war.  
"Francis was the one who taught me to play the piano," I said. "He would sit with me by the piano for hours until I got it right."  
"You really like music?" he asked.  
"It's the love of my life," I replied.  
"Do you miss it?" he asked.  
"Like one would miss their heart," I replied. "I'm going to take a walk and I wish to be alone."  
He nodded and let me wander by myself. I walked to the end of the garden but decided to continue into the forest. I didn't walk too far. I didn't believe that it was filled with dark magic that Norway says but I know for certain that there are animals that I wouldn't want to meet. Since the sun wasn't setting I wasn't too sure what time it was but I suspected it was past midnight once I returned.

Fleur met me as soon as I entered the garden. If animals could speak I suspected that she would tell me that she had been worried about me or maybe she was just upset because I didn't bring her. She walked ahead of me with light steps like she knew a secret. Fleur had always been a bit strange to me. Something about her way made me think that it was more to her than what catches the eye.  
When I entered my room it seemed smaller. A lot smaller and both to my surprise and delight I saw a piano placed on the right side of the room. For the first time since Francis died, I felt a bit happier. I almost ran over to it and sat down. My fingers felt so natural on the keys and I just began to play. It was a relief to know that I hadn't forgotten how to play. When I had played for a while I began to wonder who would give me such gift. My thoughts turned to Russia and our conversation earlier that day. Could he be the one to have arranged this? If so I would be forever grateful. My brother is dead and I attended what could be called his funeral even if I never saw the coffin getting buried but I knew that I couldn't let the grief consume me. I had to harden my heart and move on if I would ever be able to save the land he now left behind. To do that I had to find a way to get out of here, find Magda and make everything right.


	38. Part 2, Chapter 13: Magda

**Chapter 13: Magda**

"How does it feel?" Canada asked me as he stretched out my leg. I would lie if I said that I didn't feel anything because I did but it wasn't a particularly sharp pain and I could live with the soreness that would come afterwards.  
"It hurts but not too bad," I said. He let go of my leg.  
"And you can walk without any problem?" he asked. He sounded so much like a doctor but I didn't say anything. He had let me be his doctor when he was wounded and he was just returning the favour.  
"If you mean without falling to the ground crying out in pain so, yes I can walk," I replied.  
"I suggest you to only take walks as training for a few days so you can build up your strength," he said. I nodded and was quite glad that I wouldn't have to join the others in their training sessions. It was not that I didn't want to learn. On the contrary I was looking forward to learning how to shoot an arrow and use a sword but I also knew that Ladonia would be a lot tougher on me than anyone else and I wouldn't be able to stand his bossy attitude for too long and I feared what I would do if he made me cross.  
"Where have you learnt about all the medical stuff?" I asked. He had shown a lot of expertise in the field lately and there had to be a story behind it. Sure he had probably liked me learnt a thing or two during wars but it was more to it, I just knew it.  
"It's a good knowledge to have," he said and shrugged his shoulders.  
"There is something you aren't telling me," I stated.  
"Maybe, maybe not," he said and I knew that he wouldn't tell me anything at the moment about it but I wouldn't give up. I would find out it someday. Canada had been a great friend during my stay here. While Tino seemed to grow more distant by the day, Canada was the only one I could trust. We had been through a lot together and I knew that he shared my concerns about Ladonia and whether we could trust him or not.

"There you are," a perky voice said and Belarus walked over to us where we sat in the kitchen. Although she hadn't exactly asked me again if I wanted to have an alliance with her I knew that was what she was aiming for with her friendly attitude towards me and Canada. I had thought about her proposition. It would be good to have an ally but I couldn't be sure if she was one of the good ones or not.  
"You should have been there when Ladonia lost his temper when Finland accidentally shot him with an arrow," she said and giggled at the memory.  
"Is he okay?" I asked. I might not be his biggest fan but getting struck by an arrow was quite painful and I didn't wish for him to be harmed, at least not until I had found out whether he was one of the people behind this mess, then Tino could fire as many arrows at him as he wished.  
"It just grazed his right shoulder but he completely lost it," she explained. When she spoke of things like that she always sounded like she thought it to be very funny that another person had got harmed. It didn't really help her cause if she tried to win us over. When we didn't seem to react to her story she seemed to lose the perky act.  
"Thought you would think it was funny," she said and looked at me. She knew that I didn't trust Ladonia after she caught me looking around Ladonia's room. Canada looked at me with a questioning look. Belarus looked between the two of us.  
"Oh you didn't tell your boyfriend about your suspicions," she said.  
"He's not my boyfriend," I said quickly.  
"Right," she said with a tone like she didn't believe me. I was just about to tell her about Antonio but decided against it. I wasn't even sure if I could say that he was my boyfriend anymore.  
"I'm going to go and check on Ladonia," Canada said and left the table. I didn't want to be alone with Belarus but wouldn't be so rude that I would leave the table.  
"Thought he never would leave," she said and leaned closer to me. "I know that there is nothing going on between the two of you." So the only reason she did it was to make me feel uncomfortable. Great.  
"What I do know is that something happened between you and Finland," she says. I looked at her. I thought that it hadn't been that obvious. We hadn't talked that much since we got here and I hoped the others would just believe we didn't know each other that well. But of course, Belarus would know since she must have noticed it during our time at the meetings.  
"I prefer not to talk about it," I said.  
"I know you aren't but Finland sure is," she said. That got my attention. I thought he just ignored me and tried to forget that the entire never happened.  
"You don't know?" she asked and I shook my head. "He's saying all kinds of things about you to Ladonia and Molossia." For the first time in a long time, I felt like I was going to explode with anger. How could he? Just because I rejected him? Without saying anything more to Belarus I stood up and marched outside to where the others were. I forgot about my sore leg and walked over to where Finland was currently fencing against Hutt River.  
"How dare you?" I asked clear and loud so that everyone could hear. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at me. Belarus had followed me outside and was looking at the entire thing with amusement. Finland looked at me like he didn't understand what I was talking about.  
"I rejected you, yes but don't think for a second that gives you a reason to talk about me behind my back," I said and I could see the embarrassment in his eyes which told me that it was all true. Never before had I felt so betrayed. Not even when Éloïse left with her brother had I felt so bad. But I didn't cry. I wouldn't let him see that what he did actually hurt me.  
"I thought you were my friend," I continued and I kept my voice high without screaming. I wanted everyone else to hear so that he would feel as foolish as I did for trusting him.  
"You are my friend…" he said but I wouldn't let him finish the sentence.  
"Apparently my friendship isn't enough," I interrupted. "I will never forgive you for this." It was the last thing I said before leaving him standing there.

I hurried to my room and locked the door just in case someone wanted to follow me and ask me how I felt or in the worst case, Finland coming and trying to apologise. I wouldn't let him though, not in the first place. I didn't even know what he had told the others but he had probably revealed a lot of secrets and talked how a horrible person I was for rejecting him. But I wouldn't allow him to have that power of my life. If he couldn't accept being just my friend I saw no point in trying to be nice to him. This was his doing and I hoped that he would regret it for his entire existence. It felt quite good to have confronted him and it felt like the future could one change for the better now.


	39. Part 2, Chapter 14: Éloïse

**Chapter 14: Éloïse**

 _Cause every time I'm with you  
Somehow I forget to breathe  
You got me like a rag doll  
Now I'm dancing on your string  
And I keep trying to figure out who you are to me  
But maybe all that we were meant to be  
Is beautifully unfinished  
Beautifully unfinished_

Once I had reached the last word I felt lighter in my mood. It always did and I had spent most of my waking time at the piano. I had missed it but I never fully understood just how much. My fingers felt natural on the keys and my soul belonged to the music. It had healed part of the wound which Francis's death had left. I knew that the others worried about me but I could honestly say that I was okay or at least on the way towards it. However, the person who gave me the piano most likely saved my soul. Another good thing about the piano was that no one seemed to want to disturb me when I was playing and it was the perfect opportunity to think through a plan. I knew that I wouldn't be kept here against my will if I decided to leave but I knew some that would insist that I didn't leave because of all the dangers. But I had already found a map of the area and I was quite positive that I would be able to find my way to the nearest village. The tricky part would be travelling without getting recognised. I still didn't know who did this and they could be hiding somewhere in the castle for all I know so it would be for the best if no one knows where I was going or when I left. Although I wasn't sure where I was going either but south for certain and I wouldn't stop until I found Magda, Finland and Canada.  
I played for another hour until the clock stood at twelve and I knew that others was probably trying to sleep at this time and my piano probably kept them awake. But I didn't feel tired enough to get to bed myself. I rarely went to bed before three in the morning and since the midnight sun was up I didn't feel too bad about it. I usually walked with Fleur in the woods but she seemed to want to take a night in and she was fast asleep on my pillow. She looked so sweet that I didn't have the heart to wake her up. Instead I put on a brown cloak over my beige dress and went outside. It was a chilly night but the cold was welcoming and I began my journey towards the forest. I had reached the very end of the garden when someone put a hand on my shoulder and scared the shit out of me. I turned around and sighed out in relief when I saw it was only Mathias. I hadn't even heard him walking up to me.  
"It's just me," he said softly and smiled at me. I could see that he was tired and that also revealed something else, he was here for a reason and would most likely not give up until I did as he said.  
"Where are you going?" he asked. Not that he really would have to ask because I knew he knew very well where I was going. It was no secret that I walked to the forest around midnight.  
"It's dangerous," he told me. I only rolled my eyes at that. I wasn't the kind of person who was easily frightened about the unknown and I never walked that far anyway so I couldn't quite understand his concern.  
"I will be fine," I said and was growing tired of the conversation quite rapidly. Maybe the clothes we wore made him believe we lived in a time where men believed that women wasn't capable of taking care of themselves. Just as I was about to leave him he grabbed my shoulders and I was surprised by the force he used to keep me there. It was so unlike him.  
"Listen to me," he whispered and looked me right in the eye. "I don't want you to go in there by yourself."  
"Don't you think I can take care of myself?" I asked him and untangled myself from his grasp. He made a terrible mistake of questioning my capability to defend myself. Everyone who knew me knew how I felt about that.  
"I know very well that you can take care of yourself but trust me, you don't want to go out there alone," he said his voice filled with concern.  
"Merci monsieur for your concern but I will be the judge whether I should go out on my own or not," I said and with that I left him standing there in the garden all by himself.

Perhaps I should have listened to him or at least handled the situation a bit better but I took it almost as a challenge. I would prove to him that I was perfectly capable of taking care of myself. I almost expected him to go after me but he never did. The forest looked like it usually would. The trees was the same and so was the stones. Nothing looked dangerous or suspicious. It was nice to believe I had it all by myself. Here no one talked to me or pitied me and if I had my piano with me I would be able to play as long as I wanted and no one could say anything about it.  
I walked around for a few hours until I felt exhausted. But there was something different about the forest. It wasn't the same trees and stones I was used to. Things became blurry around me and I felt myself getting more tired for every step I took. I laid down on something soft and the fog that surrounded me lulled me to sleep.

I woke up the next day when something licked my nose.  
"Arrêtez Fleur," I mumbled but the sound that came after was definitely not Fleur. I sat up and looked at my surroundings. I was still in the forest. The creature that had licked my nose was a squirrel which was standing a few metres away from me and looked at me suspiciously. Or it might just have been how all squirrels looked at people. Then it all came back to me. It was something with this place that made me sleep last night but now nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Norway hadn't been lying when he said this place had magic because I had no doubt that was what it was. Normally I would not even think about laying down and sleep under the bare sky. Something wanted me to do it. Luckily I hadn't been attacked by a wild animal during the night.  
"Éloïse!" some yelled. Mathias. He must have waited for me to return and when I didn't he probably went out looking for me. I felt bad for worrying him but wasn't too happy to know that I would have to tell him what happened. At least nothing had happened or else I would probably have ran deeper into the forest so he wouldn't be able to find me because I was too embarrassed to face him. But I let him find me and listened to his lecture and nodded at appropriate times and promised that I wouldn't do it again even if it was a lie and I would most likely return the next night again.  
"Netherlands asked me to go and look for you," he revealed. "He wants to talk to you." Now that was surprising. Netherlands was the one that wanted to find me and not him. I began to question our friendship a little bit. Since when did he follow Netherlands orders?

When we reached the castle I made my way to Netherlands chambers. It was better to just be done with it. We hadn't had an argument for quite some time but I suspected it has something to do with my brother's passing. That was the bright side of all of this. But now he had probably decided that I had mourned long enough and we would go back to our old ways. He would probably tell me that hugging him, even if it was when my brother just had died was completely inappropriate and I shouldn't do it again or something petty like that.  
He was seated by his desk like usual and I sat down on the chair on the opposite side of it. It brought back memories of the last time I was here and he was about to show me something in a book. We never talked about it after and I never found out what it was about that book to begin with. He probably understood that he was about to share a secret with me and didn't want to so now he just pretended like it never happened.  
"Did you sleep alright?" he asked and I wondered if I had entered an alternative universe where Netherlands tried to pull off a joke. A quite annoying one but a joke never the least.  
"You wanted to talk to me," I said just wanting to get to the point so I could return to my piano.  
"Yes, it concerns your brother's properties," he said and took out a map of France. It was a rather old map but it was probably all he could find.  
"Let me guess," I began. "You want to expand your own lands?"  
"Do you really think so little of me?" he asked. "That I would try to gain from someone's death, especially one that used to be a dear friend to me?"  
"Monsieur, you have to forgive me but you have never shown me that you should have other intentions," I said but felt a bit foolish for jumping to conclusions.  
"If you're referring to our quarrels I have to point out that you can't expect everyone to agree with you," he said.  
"I might say the same to you," I said and I was ready to fight him again if I had to. He chuckled. It sounded so strange coming from him.  
"Point taken," he said. "But I want to make it clear that I'm not planning on taking something that doesn't belong to me."  
"Are you saying that it belongs to me?" I met his eyes. Sure I had to promise Francis to look after France for him but I had more expected to just do it for a short while until someone better for the job came around. I knew nothing of ruling a large country. Yes, I had the land which went under the name Dorné but that was barely existing next to France. I couldn't take over that.  
"He would want you to rule," Netherlands stated. "As the new France."  
"Are you crazy?" I asked. "I would never be able to bear the name."  
"But I think you would," he said and his voice was filled with so much sincerity that I felt so vulnerable and small in front of him. How could he have so much faith in me when I didn't? He didn't even like me that much but he had seen something in me which I wasn't even aware of. I stood up. Needing to get out of here to think about it.  
"Thank you for your time," I said and rushed out of the room.

It was crazy of him to even suggest it. I couldn't rule France or New France or whatever it would be called. The people would suffer under my rule and even if I did have strong opinions I couldn't protect a whole country from the enemies I would make by being such a big country. No one would take me serious and they would laugh at me every time I would try to say something. They would see me for what I was, a micro nation.  
I ran over to my piano and began to play. It was a melody filled with the emotions I felt towards the change of events and I felt a bit better afterwards.


	40. Part 2, Chapter 15: Magda

**Chapter 15: Magda**

When I woke up that morning I felt that change was coming. Not in the same way that my life changed three months ago but still, a change was in the air and I was ready to embrace it. I had always looked up to women who had become great warriors and I was ready to learn to wield a sword and shoot an arrow. I had earned more respect since my outburst on Finland. They had seen what I was capable of. He had tried to apologise a few times and maybe in the future I would forgive him but I wasn't ready yet. I didn't even feel that bad that he had to suffer for a bit. It was his own fault.  
I put on a pair of jeans and simple black t-shirt then I put on a brown leather jacket and a pair of boots. Then I braided my hair and put it up in a bun. Usually, I wouldn't put that much effort into my looks but one thing I knew that change often meant the outside as well as the inside. Now I looked like someone that could kick somebody's ass. Someone knocked on my door and I expected it to be Canada or Belarus but to my surprise, it was Ladonia who was smiling brightly at me and that made me very suspicious. I still suspected that he was planning something but I hadn't figure out what exactly.  
"God morgon," he greeted and did some sort of bow which looked utterly ridiculous.  
"Guten morgen" I greeted back more out of habit than of kindness.  
"I see that you are all dressed and ready for archery practice," he said and looked me up and down.  
"Was there anything you wanted?" I asked him. He didn't seem like the kind of person who would just stop by for a small talk.  
"I'm here to escort you to your first lesson which I'm holding," he said and the smile never left his face. I don't know if he really tried being nice or if it was all an act. It was really creepy and I was glad that Canada would join us later because I wasn't too comfortable being alone with Ladonia for too long.  
"Vielen dank, but I'm quite alright with finding my way out on my own. The house isn't that big," I said.  
"I know but I'm being a good host," he said and offered his arm. I didn't take it and just walked past him. I wouldn't be giving him the satisfaction of me obeying him. When that day came it would be the day I died. He followed me out and I walked to take the bow. I could feel Ladonia's eyes on me when I walked up to face the target. As I had never held a bow before it must have looked quite silly and as Ladonia chuckled at me I figured out that was the case.

He walked over to me and examined my body up and down. Then he grabbed my waist and turned my body a bit. It would have been completely fine if it wasn't for the fact that he kept his hand on my waist as he tried to make me lift my leg. When I had moved my left foot he moved that hand to the other side of my waist. I might not know that much about archery but I was quite certain that it didn't involve with someone having their hands on your waist. I couldn't really believe that he was trying to make a pass at me. So I did what any other reasonable woman would do. I turned around and slapped him. The sound when my hand touched his cheek told me that it must have hurt and it left a red mark on his skin.  
I took a few steps away from him and tried to show with my body and face that what he had done was completely out of line. Especially when he knew what had happened with Finland. The last thing I needed was another person angry with me for rejecting them.  
"Relax I was just showing you how to stand properly," he said.  
"Keep your hands to yourself," I told him and didn't believe one second the lie he just told me.  
"Don't be so stuck up," he said. Then I had enough and just let the bow fall to the ground and I walked away. So maybe he wasn't evil but he wasn't a nice guy. If he ever laid a hand upon me ever again I would make sure it was the last time he had hands. I met Canada in the door and I walked straight into him.  
"I'm sorry," I said and walked passed him. I knew he followed me but I didn't care to tell him not to. I knew I could trust him and most importantly, I knew that he wouldn't fall in love with me or try to make a pass at me.

I sat down on the bed and he came into the room with worry written on his face.  
"Thought you were practising with Ladonia," he said and sat down beside me.  
"Thought I was doing that too," I mumbled. Canada looked at me and asking me with his eyes to explain further.  
"The only reason he was so eager to teach us archery was so that he could be close to me," I explained. Canada's eyes widen and I could see the anger in them.  
"Did he do something?" he asked. I shook my head.  
"Not more than putting his hands where they shouldn't be," I said. Canada still didn't seem to relax but I knew he wouldn't do anything. He wasn't the type of person who would stand up to someone. It often ended with him making the situation worse for himself. I felt sort of bad for him but right now it wasn't about him it was about what Ladonia just had done to me. It was strange since I suspected he was hiding something maybe all he was hiding was the fact that he was a pervert. I could see Canada's arm raising and he showed some reluctance before he patted my shoulder. He was always so thoughtful and I was very grateful for that now more than ever. Belarus entered the room and Canada let his arm fall to the side. It was like he was ashamed to let anyone see him touching me like he was afraid someone would mistake him for doing what Ladonia did to me. Belarus raised her eyebrows and smirked at Canada who shifted uncomfortably where he sat. It was like she knew something about him that gave her the upper hand. It didn't take long until he excused himself out of the room and left.

"Whatever is the matter with him?" she asked. I didn't want to be honest with her and tell her that it was she who was the reason for Canada's escape. Instead, I just shrugged my shoulders. Belarus looked out in the hall as to make sure no one was outside to listen to what she had to say and as she shut the door I sensed that she was revealing an enormous secret and I got very curious to find out what it was.  
"I know that you are a bit reluctant to trust me but I will share some information with you that will prove my innocence," she said and threw something at me. It was an old book similar to the one that I had found in the library which I had lost in the explosion.  
"It's a book," I said.  
"Thank you for stating the obvious," she said and walked over to me and opened the first page. It was then I realised that it was the book I had lost in the explosion.  
"How could you know?" I asked. I had no memory of sharing that information with her and this would just prove that she had something to do with the explosion.  
"Know what? I found it in the basement when I was getting a blanket and I found this," she said and turned to another page. _Generations back our freedom was stolen from us, but one day we will regain it. Those who wronged us will pay._ It was circled but I noticed that someone had made more notes and circled even more sentences.  
"If that isn't a revolutionary text then I don't know," she said.  
"Nein, this is proof that someone in this house planned the explosion on the cabin," I explained. Belarus looked at me in shock. She had thought she had found someone's radical book and believed that it was proof enough but she had found something bigger than that. This proved that someone had been inside the cabin right before the explosion, taken Canada and the book and left before either me or Finland returned.  
"I accept your proposal to form an alliance," I told her. "We will need someone to trust."


	41. Part 2, Chapter 16: Éloïse

**Chapter 16: Éloïse**

The moon was shining on the black sky and making the stars seem small in comparison and I wondered if the stars would feel the same way if the moon ever vanished and one of them would try to take its place. But it would never work because none of them is a moon and they could never be. It would be a lie if they tried. They would be a fraud. As the stars could never take the moon's place I would never be able to take over France. It was a responsibility too great for me. I would fail miserably. The forest at night time had always been able to offer me answers. Not much giving them itself but it was like a dear friend that would just listen until you came to the realisation yourself. But tonight it failed to give me the comfort I needed. The silence wasn't enough anymore, I needed a voice to guide me out of my misery. To tell me that everything was going to be okay although there was a chance it wouldn't. I needed a friend.  
Francis had always been my best friend when I grew up. He was the solid rock I knew I could rely on when things got rough but now when he was gone I had no one and I felt more and more like a stranger in this place. There was no question if I should leave or not, the issue was when and how. If I could I would have left as soon as possible but I also knew that it would be reckless and foolish to do so. If I was going to leave I had to be clever. Tell the people I trust and make a plan. First of all, I needed supplies so I could survive in the woods for a few days. Then I needed a map so I could find my way to civilisation and then I would go to Germany and try to locate my friends.

Fleur had made me company tonight and she was running around, playing with the shadows. It was amusing to watch and made my heart feel a bit lighter. I tried to avoid thinking about the resemblance between her and Athena, my kitten which I had no idea where she was. She might be dead and even if that was a horrible thought the other option was even worse. If Ukraine's house also had been damaged in an explosion then she had nowhere to hide and she was probably hungry and scared. Often when I thought about Athena my thoughts wandered to the friend I had got her from. He had disappeared when all the others did and I wondered and worried where he might be. If he was dead or lost somewhere. I had prepared a speech what I would tell him if I ever saw him again. First of all I would apologise and that I should have accepted his rejection like the mature person I had to be. Then I would tell him how happy I was to see him alive.  
I found myself making a lot of those in my head, speeches. Every person I had let down I was ready to apologise to. Even to Francis I had prepared a speech but he would not be around to hear it.

I wasn't really allowed to go into the forest by myself. Not after what had happened the last time I was there but the event two weeks ago had made me want to find out more about this strange place. It was something about this place that made me feel alive and a bit uncomfortable at the same time. The trees seemed to watch my every move and the wind sing its own melody of souls which had gone lost in the very place I was at. But that didn't scare me that much. If it wanted me lost it could already have lead me on the wrong path but it didn't. Maybe it understood that I was already lost in life and didn't need to get lost in a forest to realise that.  
After an hour I returned to the castle and I hoped that no one was awake to see my return. They would most likely tell Mathias or Netherlands about it and they would be all over with me with their reasons why I shouldn't leave. When no one met me at the door I was hopeful that I would survive the night without another lecture. I had almost reached my room when Norway came up from nowhere.  
"God you scared me," I said. Fleur also looked spooked and glared at Norway suspiciously.  
"Where have you been?" he asked. I didn't answer since I suspected that he already knew.  
"It's dangerous," he warned me. It wasn't the first time but this time he seemed even more serious than the last time, if that even was possible.  
"Why?" I asked him. Many had warned me about the dangers in the woods but no one had really explained. Yes that there was dark magic but what happened? I had been inside the forest many times but except the event with the fog I had never encountered anything dangerous.  
"Trust me," he just said and I returned to my room.

The first thing I think of is if it would be too late to play piano. Probably. It was still a mystery who gave me but I suspected Russia had something to do with it. He is the only one I told about my love of music except Mathias and he seemed more or less jealous at the person who gave me it. There was clues that could give him away. We had grown closer for the past few weeks. He seemed to understand me on some level which no one in the castle could. He listened and offered support. The only problem was that I wasn't entirely sure if I could trust him or not. I didn't want to believe that he had anything to do with this whole mess but another part of me believed the others. He was a mysterious person and there was things that he left unsaid which only gave me more reason to doubt him.  
After I had been staring at the piano for a while I went to the bed and laid down. But sleep couldn't find me so I sat up again. I walked over to the window and looked outside over the forest. Something was different. Not that it looked any different than it usually did but something was different. Something was calling me and my legs began to move on its own accord. Normally it would make me terrify but a voice inside of my head told me to not worry and that everything was going to be okay.

Fleur was walking beside me with the same light steps she always did when we were walking in the forest. As soon as I passed the line where the castle's garden ended the forest changed. The tree trunks and the ground was glowing in green and blue. It was so beautiful and enchanting and my feet stopped and let me take in my surroundings. I wondered if it was this Norway always warned me about but it couldn't be. Could something so beautiful be so dangerous? Then I heard music. A tune which I had never heard before but it felt like I knew it by heart. Creatures began to fly around my head. I couldn't tell what they were but they were beautiful as they were dancing in the air and my body began to twirl with them and I lost myself in the music. For the first time in a long time I felt no pain and no regrets. I felt free and I went back to my room before anyone else got up. I wasn't sure what had happened but I longed for it to happen again.


	42. Part 2, Chapter 17: Magda

**Chapter 17: Magda**

During the war, Ludwig had made it his mission to teach me to use a gun. How to stand and how to hold it in order to make hitting my target easier. He taught me that if my aim was true then I would never miss. Every time I picked up a bow and pointed the arrow's point at the target I thought about his words and I wanted them to be true. So I practised as soon as I had time to spare which was most of the time since there was little one could do around here since no one was allowed to leave. But I needed to train my fighting skills because my whole stay here was a ticking time bomb just waiting to explode. With Belarus's help, I understood that someone here was not to trust and even though it pained me to admit it, I did no longer believe it was Ladonia. He was a pervert and I didn't want to be left alone with him ever again but I didn't believe that he could do something so evil.  
I and Belarus had been paying more attention to everyone. Since we have taken the book and keeps it hidden, we're looking for someone who shows signs of discomfort. Hopefully, someone realises that someone has found their book and is acting strangely. The main suspect is Malossia. Next, to Ladonia he was the one who seemed to be capable of something like this. I knew that it was often not the one you believed who was the guilty one but we still needed to keep an eye on him.

I tried not to think too much about the threat of an unknown enemy among us. It made it a lot more difficult to concentrate. Just as I was about to let the arrow fly someone coughed behind me. I sighed and turned around, prepared to tell the person whoever had broken my concentration to leave me alone. It didn't come much of a surprise to see Belarus standing there. She had the habit of just walking in while I was doing something that needed my attention fully. Sometimes it was something important she had to say, a clue she had found or a conversation she had overheard but most of the time it all came down to the fact that she was bored and had to tell someone about it and since no one here liked her that much I was the one she went to.  
"Are you out here again?" she asked and looked over to the target.  
"We have to be prepared," I told her. "You know why."  
"Da, but practising every waking hour is not good," she pointed out.  
"I don't practice all the time," I said.  
"When was the last time you ate?" she asked.  
"I ate breakfast this morning," I replied. "But I don't know what that has anything to do with it."  
"It is five P.M and you probably ate breakfast around eight this morning," she said and I could see honest concern in her eyes. "I'm worried about you." I knew that she wouldn't rest her case until I put down the bow and went inside and ate dinner with her.  
"I will go inside but you don't have to worry about me," I told her as we made our way back to the house. Wy and Sealand were sitting at the table and played chess.  
"Do you want to play?" Sealand asked and he was directing the question to me since Belarus had done little to not make him fear her. I suppose that sometimes it was good to have a frightening demeanour. No one would dare to question her or do anything to her without her consent. If I had been a little more like her Ladonia might not have dared to even think that he could touch me so inappropriately. I shook my head to Sealand's question and helped Belarus prepare dinner for everyone.

She made me choose what we would cook and I suspected it was because she believed me to have an eating disorder and wanted me to eat make me something that I wanted to eat. It was not by choice that I didn't eat. Time just flew by and I simply forgot to eat. I hadn't even been that hungry. Maybe I should be a bit cautious. Not only for my health but it was quite suspicious if someone trained all day long for a battle that might never come. Maybe someone might already suspect that someone was on to him.  
"Can you please stop staring at the wall and help me out?" Belarus asked and brought me back to reality. Wy and Sealand turned their attention to me instead of their game and had the same worried expression on their faces as Belarus.  
"Thank you, I was lost in thoughts," I said and took the bowl that Belarus was holding and went over to the sink to fill it with water.

We made fish sticks with mashed potatoes since neither of us was really any professional when it came to food but nobody seemed to complain. After dinner, we went outside and sat down in the garden. It was something we did quite often. In the cold night air, things seemed so much simpler as we were gazing at the stars. Sometimes we talked about small things in life that had little meaning but sometimes we discussed important things such as life. Most of the time we just sat there in silence. I thought this was going to be one of those nights. I _hoped_ it would be one of those nights.  
"You would tell me. Wouldn't you?" she asked and looked at me. I didn't know what she was referring to so I didn't say anything.  
"If you had any problems," she clarified. It was strange to hear her voice such concern about me since I had found her to be quite cold towards people and didn't seem to care much about other people's wellbeing.  
"Nothing's wrong," I told her. At least nothing she could do to help me with.  
"Is it Finland?" she asked. The memory of my outburst at him was still fresh in my mind and it had kept me awake at night but I could honestly say that he wasn't bothering me that much. I had come to terms that I could never trust him again and I what made me sad was the fact that I wasn't particularly sad knowing it.  
"Nein, even if what he did hurt me I can honestly say that I'm moving on from that," I said.  
"We should probably keep an eye on him," she said. I looked at her, not believing the words that came out of her mouth. Yes, what Finland did was not nice but I could never distrust him that much. He was too nice to go over to the dark side.  
"Think about it. He obviously cared about you but he still talked about you behind your back. He can't be trusted," she said. When I thought about it she might be right. We had been close friends and friends didn't expose each other's secrets to somebody else.

"Why does love has to be so complicated?" I asked out to no one rather than to Belarus.  
"Do you know who you're talking to?" she asked. "I know the answer to that question as much as you do." When she said that I thought back at the days with the meetings. Belarus's obsession with Russia was one of the reasons why no one wanted to talk to her. She was so protective over him and I could never think that her love for her brother was strange.  
"Why do you love him?" I asked. "He's your brother and nothing can ever come of it"  
"I don't know," she replied. "That's the thing with love. You can't help who you fall for. I can't help it and Finland can't either."  
"But don't you think that your weird obsession with your brother has denied you the chance for real love?" I asked.  
"Maybe," she replied and stared up at the stars with an absent look on her face. Then she looked at me and smirked. It made me uncomfortable since the conversation we just had was so serious.  
"Is there anything you want to tell me about?" she teased. I had no idea what she was talking about and wondered if I had said something weird.  
"Do you have second thoughts about you and Spain's relationship?" she asked. I hadn't thought much about the relationship that much. Of him, yes. But not about our relationship that I could now say didn't exist anymore but I still felt like I had to honour it since we hadn't had a chance to break up.  
"What relationship?" I asked. "He might be dead."  
"You're in love with somebody else," Belarus stated and smiled widely.  
"What? How did you come to that conclusion?" I asked.  
"Did you give in to Ladonia's charms?" she asked but her smiled died out almost immediately. She whispered an apology but I didn't mind that much since she didn't mean it. But I was very curious to know why she all of a sudden thought that I had feelings for someone.  
"Who do you think I'm in love with?" I asked. She opened her mouth to answer but the sound of steps approaching us made her close it again. Canada walked over to us and smiled at us.  
"Thought I would find you here," he said. "Mind if I join you?"  
"Nein, not at all," I said and he sat down.  
"So are you going to tell me why you're being so secretive?" he asked. I and Belarus looked at each other. Could we trust him? I believed so I and Belarus seemed to think so too. So we told him everything.


	43. Part 2, Chapter 18: Éloïse

**Chapter 18: Éloïse**

The start of September was the ending of the summer. The sun had already begun to hide behind clouds a few weeks ago but now it was official and we had an autumn and winter to look forward to. It also marked the anniversary of my independence. A year ago I left my brother's house to live on my own. So much had changed since then. I didn't have a house anymore and Francis was dead.  
Luckily the happening in the forest offered a distraction. During the nights when I wasn't too exhausted I went out in the forest. Waiting for something like the last time to happen. Then during daylight, I was in the library and read books about the forest and I even found some books about magic. But I could never find an answer to what it was. I had considered asking Norway about it but that would mean that I would have to tell him about it and then Mathias and Netherlands would find out as well and then they would probably make sure that I never left my room. The only thing I was able to bring back from that night is the song they danced to. I could never do it as wonderfully as it sounded but it was the closest I could come to that feeling of content. No pain and no bad memories. All that existed was me and the music. I longed for the next night when it would call me.

I was on my way from the library when Mathias approached me. Even if he had agreed with me that pursuing a relationship right now would be very foolish but he still seemed determined to make sure that I would go to him when I was ready to start a relationship with someone. The sad truth was that I didn't feel like that for him. After the night when my house burnt down I knew that nothing would ever happen between us. He was sweet but I couldn't see myself with him and now when I had my brother's legacy to take care of I just didn't have the time. Since I got the piano he had been extra kind to me. Giving me flowers and compliments, everything to make me forget the mysterious man who gave me the piano. But the even in the forest had made me quite distracted from reality so when he once again showed up with a rose in his hand I just passed him by. I didn't even stay to apologise for my behaviour.  
Once I reached my room I went to the piano, like always. Nowadays I only played one song, the song of the forest, I called it. There was no words to it but sometimes I made up some of my own. It was often in French and about Francis. It made the grief number, but I had noticed that although it hadn't been long it was easier to shut the pain out. It felt like it was possible to move on from his death. Since I was too occupied in the music I didn't hear someone open the door. Not until said person put a hand on the piano which made me stop abruptly. Norway was looking at me. It was no emotion in his eyes. No judgement or anger and it made me wonder why he was here in the first place since I didn't think Norway was the kind of person who would seek someone out for small talk.  
"What do you want?" I asked him. It was no ill intentions behind my question, just curiosity.  
"The song you're playing," he began.  
"What about it?" I asked him when he didn't seem to want to finish the sentence.  
"It's an old song that people usually played to honour the spirits of the forest. Whatever did you found it?" he asked. The spirits of the forest? Might that be the glowing creatures that I saw? I knew that I shouldn't ask him but my curiosity took the better out of me.  
"That doesn't matter. Now tell me about the so called spirits of the forest," I demanded.  
"There isn't much to tell. They're a legend that has passed on for generations. They are the creatures that protects the forest from the darkness."  
"And have you seen these spirits?"  
"No one has," Norway replied. "Why such interest?" I thought for a second before I told him about my night in the forest. After I was done I was prepared for another lecture. But instead he just left. It was odd and made me feel uneasy. Something about my story must have made him upset. Or maybe he knew something that he didn't want to tell me.

After a few minutes he returns with Netherlands and Russia. I and Norway might not be close but I thought that he could at least have waited for an hour before he went to tell on me. Now I had to deal with both Netherlands and Russia. My friendship that could have been with Norway nearly crossed the line of making him my enemy but it would remain in the middle which only made him the strange person who would time from time tell me to stay away from the forest.  
"I told you not to go out in the forest," Netherlands said. I stood up and crossed my arms. It was my way to tell Netherlands that I wouldn't let him tell me what he wanted and I would most definitely say something to him in return.  
"I can look after myself," I told him.  
"Apparently not," he muttered.  
"What is that supposed to mean? I'm still alive," I said.  
"Just barely," he snapped.  
"Why do you care anyway?" I asked but he didn't answer. Russia and Norway looked rather uncomfortable and I felt a bit bad because of it. It wasn't their fault that I and Netherlands couldn't be in the same room as each other most of the time without starting an argument. It was just how we worked.  
"Norway told us what you saw," Russia said. Turning our attention to him and not to each other.  
"Did he now?" I asked and glared at him.  
"He also told us that nothing such as the spirits of the forest exist," Netherlands continued.  
"Just because he hasn't seen them doesn't mean that they don't exist," I told him. Normally I would have been much more reasonable but Netherlands always brought out the worst in me.  
"May we take a look around?" Norway asked. I nodded since I knew that they wouldn't give up if I said no. So he and Netherlands began to search the room. For what I wasn't sure. But that left me and Russia alone by the piano and it was the perfect moment to ask him about the thing that had been nagging me.  
"I never got the chance to thank you," I whispered.  
"For what?" he asked.  
"For being there after my brother's death," I replied. "But also for the gift."  
"What gift?" he asked confused.  
"The piano?"  
"I never gave you the piano," he told me. Somehow that was very disappointing. I wanted him to be the one who did it. Now the mystery only grew and knowing me I would ponder it until I found out who it was.

After a while Netherlands and Norway give up their search and they goes back to the piano."  
"Found anything interesting?" I asked them.  
"Unfortunately not," Norway replied. I could see that Netherlands seemed quite interested in a cup that was standing on a small table by the piano. There was wine in it and I had planned to drink it later. He went over and picked it up. Then he began to smell it and look at. As if it was the most interesting thing in the entire world.  
"The thing you saw wasn't real," he declared and walked over with the cup.  
"What makes you so certain?" I asked him. "And put down that cup. I was planning on drinking it later."  
"I wouldn't drink the wine if I were you," he said.  
"And why not?" I asked.  
"Someone is trying to drug you," he stated. The air in the room seemed to vanish and my heart grew heavy in the chest. What he was saying was that someone within the castle wasn't to trust.  
"But why not use poison?" I asked and took the cup from Netherlands. I looked down at the dark red liquid and wondered how I couldn't have noticed. It had just stood there when I got here and I had always believed that this someone was Mathias who wanted me to feel better. Only twice had the cup appeared. The last time was the night when I thought I had seen the spirits of the forest. I couldn't even remember drinking from it the last time.  
"I don't know. Maybe the person didn't want you dead," Netherlands said.  
"Maybe the person just wanted you out of the way for a while," Norway said. Netherlands began to look around the room once again but after a while he got a disappointed look on his face as he had failed to find what he was looking for.  
"But why?" I asked.  
"You're important," Netherlands said. I looked at him wide eyed because I couldn't believe the words he was saying.  
"Don't flatter yourself. You're the ruler of France," he said and the slight second of the friendship we ever could have vanished.  
"So someone wants me out of the way so that they can take over France?" I asked. As if losing my brother wasn't enough, apparently someone wanted me out of the way.  
"I don't know but you have to be extra careful from now on," he said and I could see slight concern in his eyes.


End file.
